AverxgeJoe Reviews

The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

Better than the first Purge

[5/10 · 18 January 2016]

The Purge: Anarchy is a good movie for a sequel. Maybe that's because the first one wasn't good to begin with. This time the movie goes a bit more in depth of it's yearly title event. The sequel features more characters than the first one, and in this case, the more the merrier. The characters were a bit better than in the first one, but the acting was unfortunately a hit and miss. From a technical standpoint the movie could have been better. Directing was not that good, action, etc. like I said could have been better. At least I feel like it would have been.

Frank Grillo was the star of the movie. That's honestly a no-brainer. Not only cause he easily gave the best performance out of all the actors, but the writer had made his character so much more interesting, and well, just better than the rest of the characters. Or should I say he had made the other characters more stupid than Grillo's character.

The Purge (I) (2013)

An interesting theme, but a mediocre movie

[4/10 · 17 January 2016]

The Purge certainly takes place in an interesting future. The premise was really interesting and during the first half hour I was confused why this movie had such a low rating. After the half hour mark I began to understand the low ratings. The movie turned into a mediocre horror thriller, and the backstory was more or less forgotten.

Ethan Hawke was great from the start. So was Lena Headey. They had great chemistry as a husband and a wife and they shared some good moments, in my opinion. But they couldn't save the movie.

The kids however were completely opposite to their parents. The son was perhaps the most annoying character in a horror movie ever. And how he got away with everything he did was just irritating. His character was there basically just to move the plot forward and have some kind of conflict and danger befall on the movie's family.

The movie wasn't all that well made either. The jump scares were painfully obvious and were more of an annoyance than actual scare. The movie did feature one brutal fight scene, which was well executed and shot and Ethan Hawke really shined in it. It's a shame that the rest of the second half was so bad.

Colombiana (2011)

Didn't like it

[4/10 · 14 January 2016]

Colombiana was a mess to be honest. Yes the movie has a good premise and a revenge story going for it, but then it has loads of other dumb parts which really bring the film down. The silly writing makes sure that I can't take this movie seriously, like the filmmakers intend. This is not something like Piranha 3DD (which I just saw) where the filmmakers clearly know that they are making a dumb movie and they embrace it. (Piranha 3DD was still bad) But Colombiana tries to be a legitimate action film and fails miserably.

Director Olivier Megaton is not a good director. He handles the basics reasonably well, but when **** hits the fan and audience expects a good action sequence, you will not get one. One of the scenes in the climax is a prime example of this. Terrible angles and incredibly short shots make it hard to see what's going on. And it really shatters the illusion that there is a life and death situation going on with our main character.

The acting was a hit and miss, Lenny James being the hit and everyone else being the miss. The bad directing, plot holes and plot conveniences made sure that this movie was a bad experience.

Lucy (I) (2014)

I just can't

[3/10 · 12 January 2016]

I really don't know what to say about this movie. I just know that I didn't like it. The story sure is something different than you would expect from an action movie. But a different or a daring story doesn't automatically equal a good story. And in my opinion the story in Lucy is completely ridiculous. Weird story, with below average action and terrible characters equals a bad movie.

I say the characters are terrible, cause in all honesty they are. Besides Lucy, everyone else in the movie is just insignificant. Nameless henchmen, vapid villain, useless cop sidekick for the all powerful Lucy.

Lucy herself said that: The more knowledge she acquires, the more she loses her human emotions. Or something along those lines. That really summarizes my opinion about her character. As the movie went on, the less I found myself caring. After she became a superhuman, her whole character just got more and more boring.

Only time I was even remotely entertained during the movie, was when at the very start Morgan Freeman was giving his presentation about our cells and whatnot. Of course the whole thing was absolute bullcrap, but just Morgan Freeman alone made it worth listening. But just for a brief moment.

Macbeth (I) (2015)

So much red

[8/10 · 10 January 2016]

Macbeth is visually stunning. Great landscapes, shots, everything. I didn't like certain slow motion scenes, particularly in the beginning of the film. The very beginning is actually the worst part of the movie. The movie takes some time to get started and it definitely gets better as it goes on. The third act and especially the ending is breathtakingly beautiful.

My biggest problem with this movie is the old English they are speaking. English is not my first language, nor are my academic goals in English literature. It is nice to see that they stayed true to Shakespeare's writing but I can't make myself to enjoy the dialogue when it's spoken.

Other than that the movie is good. Acting is great and the constant ambient score was nice.

Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Pretty bad

[3/10 · 8 January 2016]

Jupiter Ascending was quite a bad movie. The script and the story were incoherent. Too much weird stuff happening without good explanations.

Some of the scifi stuff, like the lizards with wings were too much. They were just there to be cannon fodder for our soulless hero. The filmmakers probably tried to add tension, since a big hulking lizard is a tougher opponent than just normal human right? Wrong. None of the action scenes had any emotional charge or excitement what so ever. Thanks to our lifeless characters, who are basically invulnerable.

The acting was pretty bad for the most part. Eddie Redmayne, who certainly can act, was absolutely terrible. Maybe he was told to use an annoyingly slow and silent voice, but nonetheless his performance was painful to watch. And the other two Abrasax siblings were just as bad. Mila Kunis was quite annoying, starting right from the opening narration. She did get better towards the end though. Channing Tatum wasn't that good either.

Only glimmer of hope was Sean Bean. The exposition via Sean Bean's character about 45 minutes into the movie, was the only time when I was even remotely interested in the story.

Soundtrack was pretty much nonexistent. Nothing to remember.

The movie is filled with special effects. They were extravagant I'll give them that, but they were not good. There were just so much stuff happening during every action scene and it was just so, well, messy. The hovercraft chase scene was absolutely ridiculous. Random CGI things exploding without context doesn't equal excitement. Sometimes less is more.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)

Good ending for the series

[8/10 · 6 December 2015]

The movie dragged a bit at the start, but then things picked up quite well. I was surprised how fateful the filmmakers were to the books. Not that it had an effect on my opinion of the movie. But I was still pleasantly surprised.

Good acting from the whole cast. Lawrence was great once again. Katniss's and Gale's different views on war was a good way to make some debate about war in general.

The action was good and the sewer scene was surprisingly effective. I knew what was going to happen, but the chaoticness that director Francis Lawrence had created for the scene was amazing.

The ending was just a little bit drawn out, but aside from that it was well done and since I enjoyed the movie, I didn't mind the long ending. When the credits started to roll, the movie had left a little smile on my face.

Good ending for the series. I'm glad I saw it.

Kill the Messenger (2014)

It fell through after the beginning

[6/10 · 14 October 2015]

Jeremy Renner was great. No question there. But how about the rest of the movie? The directing was alright, but I feel like the script was really lacking just something. I don't know. I was eager to see how the movie ends, and the ending was good, but the movie didn't make me care about the road to the ending.

The first half of the movie was great. But in the second half the movie crumbled. I feel like the characters weren't really developed and they were too black and white. Webb's family drama was not interesting at all and it would have been great if the filmmakers had laid back on it.

In the second half there were events that weren't really explained and why they happened in the first place. It felt like the movie had drama just for the sake of drama. That is a shame, because the movie seemed really promising at first. Jeremy Renner saved the movie and made it moderately good.

I don't care about the accuracies or inaccuracies of the actual events and who was right and who was wrong. I just care about how the movie plays out as a movie. With no external factors taken into consideration. And as a movie it's just passable.

Friday the 13th (1980)

Hilarious but not necessarily in a good way

[3/10 · 13 October 2015]

This movie was more comedy than horror. The acting was atrocious even for horror movie standards. It wasn't completely the actors and the actresses fault, because the script and dialogue were just laughable.

The scene quite early on in the movie when the motorcycle cop came to the lake was just pure comic gold. It was so poorly done, written and acted yet so hilarious at the same time. Actually that's the case for many other scenes. They are so bad, but comically entertaining.

The score was more annoying than scary, the high-pitched sounds in particular. Other horror movies also use high-pitched sounds, but this was the first time I was genuinely annoyed by it.

The ending was far too prolonged and really dragged. They could have skipped many scenes from the ending and go straight for the finale at the shore. The way Alice finally killed the movie's bad guy, (erhm* I mean lady) was terrible and corny.

However, I have to give the movie some credit. I was really surprised that Annie was the first to die. And she didn't even arrive at the camp yet. The whole time when she was running from the killer in the woods I just kept thinking to myself: "Of course she will get away, there not gonna kill anyone this early into the movie." And then the movie gives me the finger and kills her off. That was great.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Adrenaline boost! (for the most part)

[7/10 · 7 October 2015]

Boy what a ride! Crazy action and visuals. But the movie is far from perfect.

The first hour of the movie was simply amazing. The movie dives straight into the world of Mad Max. I didn't question anything I just enjoyed the view. And for the first hour of it's runtime the movie more than delivered.

It was in the second half, where I encountered some problems. The movie is essentially a 2 hour long car chase. The action doesn't revolve around the plot, the little plot this movie has revolves around the action. This was fine and I didn't even care about the lack of story, until the action stopped. Due to the lack of the story I was incredibly bored when there was no action. And I'm not even an action junkie. There simply were no substance apart from the action.

It would seem that Charlize Theron's character Furiosa would be the most interesting character since she is the one who had perhaps the biggest story arc out of all the characters. But having the biggest story arc in this movie is not a whole lot. I actually found the title character Max by Tom Hardy the most interesting. His actions and his rough exterior fits him right into the movie's brutal world.

Max was a lot better character than Furiosa. Her character was trying to have some emotional depth, but ultimately it fell short in my eyes. Probably due to the lack of story in the movie. Max was just a real fighter and a survivor and the filmmakers didn't even try to make the character anything more. I really liked that! Despite what their characters were in the movie, both Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy gave good performances. Tom Hardy sure knows how to grunt.

Even though the action was amazing, I became a bit numb to it towards the end of the movie. The climax didn't have the same paralyzing effect to me anymore, like the first half of the movie did.

Overall, it was an enjoyable movie. But I can't even think how awful it would have been if the action wasn't as good as it was.

Southpaw (2015)

Yes and no

[5/10 · 5 October 2015]

Southpaw reminds me of Fury. That's because, both movies tell stories that have already been told before. I have more or less seen Southpaw even before watching it, just with different cast and directors.

I don't have anything against that by default. IMO same or similar stories to each other can be told as many times as long as they entertain the viewer again. For example, Fury was very generic and clichéd, but it had some good moments of it's own and it kept me entertained.

Southpaw was generic and clichéd as well, but the truly great moments lacked.

The feels the movie tried to push at me felt far too artificial. When the protagonist Billy Hope's wife Maureen died, it was too soon and it didn't have an impact on me. It was so artificial, cause obviously I will feel sorry for the guy, because his wife died, but solely because she was his wife. The movie didn't make me feel anything in regards of her character. I barely even got to know her.

Billy's progress through the movie was too superficial and didn't make me feel anything below the surface. That's why the ending felt stale, even though it should have been a happy moment.

So story wise the movie is a big no no. But the acting from Jake Gyllenhaal was amazing. For what it's worth his performance made me watch the movie till the end. Rachel McAdams was lacking and she wasn't even in the movie for that long. Forest Whitaker wasn't even close to what he was in The Last King of Scotland, but he was still fine. And Naomie Harris surprised me! She was great in a small role.

The score did get on my nerves sometimes, the piano was nice, but the string instruments went too far at times. Music was used quite copiously even when dialogue was going on, or at least it felt like it. I wasn't a fan of that.

So a plus for the acting and a minus for the rest of the movie.

The Drop (2014)

It's probably better as a novel

[6/10 · 2 October 2015]

The Drop was an alright movie.

I thought the acting was great. This was the last movie James Gandolfini was in before he passed away. He did leave giving a great performance, rest in peace. The score was alright, nothing too fancy, but not anything special.

The big problem I had with this movie was the pacing. It starts out really slow. The ending is great on many levels and gives you closure, but it feels so long to get there. Also I did note some plot conveniences, that kinda bugged me.

I have a feeling that this story is a lot better in it's original form, as a short story called "Animal Rescue"

Sicario (2015)

Loved it

[10/10 · 1 October 2015]

I can't be bothered to write detailed long reviews anymore (not in English at least, it's not my first language) since I don't have the time and or interest in writing them. But I like to blurt out stuff so here we go.

I had waited for the movie a long time and it didn't disappoint. I liked pretty much everything in the movie. The acting, the direction, the suspense, the score, the visuals. The plot was not as amazing as the rest of the movie, but it was good.

Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro were both amazing in the movie. Josh Brolin was good as well. I don't like Jon Bernthal, but he played a role that really suited him and he was surprisingly good.

Directing and cinematography were great. The movie had a lot of great visuals. Sometimes it felt like I was watching a documentary about Mexican/Texan landscape, but I didn't mind that. It was great. It was something different. The direction really mixed well with the score. The score goes up and down and creates great tension and suspense.

I'm gonna say that this is my favorite movie of the year.

I have never seen a movie by Denis Villeneuve before. I will most likely check out his previous work.

Black Swan (2010)

Amazing film

[9/10 · 23 January 2015]

Black Swan was a chilling film. Natalie Portman gives an amazing performance as a young ballerina named Nina. She is given the desired role of Swan Queen in the Swan Lake ballet. However she starts to lose her mind under the pressure of the playing the part. The film gives us an behind the scenes look to the life of a ballerina. And from what I've heard about ballerinas, the film is fairly accurate. The rivalries between the dancers are bitter and the pressure is really hard when competing for the best roles.

Black Swan is well directed and edited, with a good score. As Nina descends more into madness and starts having hallucinations I felt like I was watching a horror film. I thank director Aronofsky for his kind direction and warning us about jump scares in advance. Beyond the jump scares the film was a terrifying experience. Nina's whole story arc is a nail biting experience.

The film's whole story acts as an allegory for the Swan Lake ballet, where likewise in the film the main protagonist descends into the darkness of her own mind. The foreshadowing isn't very subtle, but the film stays suspenseful and intensive till the end. Black Swan is definitely one of the best films of 2010.

300: Rise of an Empire (2014)

The unnecessary sequel

[3/10 · 17 December 2014]

300 was a passable movie. It didn't need a sequel however. 300 Rise of an Empire begins right were 300 left off. King Leonidas and his 300 warriors are slain in the battle of Thermopylae, by the hand of Xerxes' army. This movie features an Athenian general Themistokles who joins the battle against the Persians. The plot in this movie is as simple as it was in the previous one. A handful of warriors must beat a much larger force. This movie also features a new villain. Artemisia, the commander of Xerxes' fleet. The movie takes place on the sea for the most part. And the battles are fought on deck of ships.

Queen Gorgo is still here from the last movie. She is once again played by Lena Headey. Her acting was mediocre as was the acting of the rest of the main cast. None of them made a great impression. Sullivan Stapleton occasionally delivered some good stuff, but overall it was still mediocre at best. Xerxes still has his annoying hoarse voice from the first movie.

Even though the performance weren't that good they still sadly are the best part of this movie. Rest of the movie was really bland. This movie is the director Noam Murro's second feature film and he clearly hasn't mastered the tricks of a good director. The coordination of the battle scenes (especially the ones taking place on the sea) is bad. You can barely understand what is going on. The plot often contradicts itself and so do the characters. A character wants something, but then his motives illogically turn around on the course of the same scene. The plot is also illogical at times. The battle tactics are weird and lead to nothing, but forced and pointless drama between the characters.

This movie is so full of visual effects and CGI and it shows. It's not realistic and it looks bad when every single shot and landscape is CGI. Another bad thing about the effects is the constant use of blood splatter. This wouldn't be a bad thing if the effects were good, but the blood splatter seemingly come out of nowhere and are laughably bad. This movie's budget was double than 300's. Yet the visual effects look two times worse. The filmmakers must have been incompetent or very lazy, trusting the fact that the fame of the first would make a lot of money in the box office, no matter what they do with the movie. And yes it worked. The movie did well in the box office.

300 was directed by Zack Snyder. He is known for using a lot of slow motion in his films. 300 was full of slow motion. Too much for my taste and probably for many others too. Rise of an Empire is very faithful for this part of the first movie. There is random slow motion parts in each fight scene. And it makes them not only look bad, but also boring.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Didn't work for me

[4/10 · 12 December 2014]

The Sixth Sense is the movie that put certain M. Night Shyamalan to the map. I heard that this is an amazing movie and maybe my expectations were a bit high cause I didn't enjoy it.

It's about a boy who sees terrible visions and a child psychologist who is trying to help him. I didn't like the story. I know Shyamalan tends to have twists in his movies, but the twist in this one didn't impress me. Maybe I spoiled the viewing experience for myself since I knew to look for the twist. Maybe I should have seen this movie when it came out to enjoy it more. Much of this comes down to my personal preference. And to be honest I don't like Shyamalan's directional style. The long takes were not that good. I didn't like his framing either.

The movie was okay on the acting front. I liked Haley Joel Osment's performance. Bruce Willis and the rest of the cast were okay. M. Night Shyamalan made a brief appearance, which didn't really make me hold my breath.

The good thing about the movie is it's overall creepiness and sense of fear. There were couple of jump scares that made me cringe. Having too much jump scares isn't necessarily a good thing, but the movie doesn't rely on them. Sometimes this movie reminded me about Shining with the hallucinations and everything. And no surprise here: I thought Kubrick did it much better.

Some things don't appeal to everyone and this movie is an example. I just couldn't make myself to like it.

Snakes on a Plane (2006)

Ridiculous and unfunny

[3/10 · 11 December 2014]

The film's title says it all. The film is about snakes on a plane. A guy witnesses a murder and he must be escorted from Hawaii to LA in order for him to testify. The mobster who is the murderer in question smuggles snakes to the plane they are flying in. Then all hell breaks loose.

The story is dumb to say the least. There is many problems with it, including plot holes. The writing is bad as well. There are clichés and unfunny jokes. Some of the jokes were so dumb I burst out laughing for the stupidity, but most of the times I just shook my head in disbelief. There were one or two funny lines mostly due to the fact that is was Samuel L. Jackson who was the one delivering them, but that's about it.

Directing wasn't that good either. I know this is nit picking but there were also some continuity errors that shouldn't have been there. The CGI of the snakes was pretty bad. The snakes didn't look real at all and it was very cheap looking.

There is nothing really to say about the characters. There were many of them and you won't be bothered to care who they are or what will happen to them. Many of them are stereotypes of whatever they are representing.

And finally. I was surprised to see that this is categorized as action and thriller. There were no elements of a thriller, no suspense, no excitement. The snakes that looked more like toy snakes than actual snakes made sure of that there was no excitement. This film should be categorized as action and comedy. And it's a bad comedy.

Zodiac (2007)

True stories are not always good on film

[7/10 · 10 December 2014]

Yeah so the film is about the mass murderer called the Zodiac Killer and the manhunt for him. He kills innocent people and the authorities are trying to find him of course. The film is a true story. It follows closely the real events and the characters are real as well.

That's one of the main problems with it. The film is far too long and slow. There is not much excitement apart from couple of scenes. But in those scenes you already know the outcome because this is true story. That's the problem with films following true stories very closely and not embellishing the story to fit it better in a film. I wasn't keen on the cinematography neither. The film is about a dark topic but that doesn't really reflect from the film. The setting is always bright and almost happy even.

When watching this film it didn't feel like I was watching a feature film, but more like a documentary. Because honestly this is how it feels. And who would be interested in watching a documentary that runs 2 hours and 45 minutes. As sometimes in the film, the characters lose faith in finding the Zodiac Killer, I myself lost faith in having interest in the movie.

So the film was too long and dull, but there was some quality acting. Performances were good all around and there is nothing bad to say about Fincher's directing. So the film wasn't bad but it wasn't great neither. Something between.

Winter's Bone (2010)

A real movie

[8/10 · 8 December 2014]

You don't need a big budget to make a great movie. Winter's Bone proves that. It's a movie about real characters and real life in backwoods USA. It's a gripping story about a young woman Ree Dolly and her struggle. Her father has pawned their house and lands for bail from jail. He's gone missing and now Ree has to find him. If she doesn't find him till the court day and his father doesn't show up they lose their house. Ree gradually finds out more about his father disappearance. We don't get know too much too fast and it's good cause it's keeps the viewer guessing.

The movie has a sense of realness to it. The atmosphere is bleak and almost hopeless throughout the whole movie and this is also seen in the cinematography. Colors are cold and gray for the majority of the movie. The score sits well with the atmosphere. It's beautiful and almost haunting at times. The movie is tense and keeps you watching it closely.

The acting is top notch. Jennifer Lawrence is amazing in her role. She captivates Ree's character so well. Not only via dialogue but her expressions are really good. Ree is a young woman who's had to grow up very quickly in order to take care of her family, without her father. She is tough and Lawrence makes sure the audience knows that. In a supporting role we see John Hawkes as Ree's uncle. Who seems like a hard and even scary person, but he has a great story arc. There is not a bad thing that can be said about his performance. In general the characters feel very genuine and real. Movie's script is very good one of the best of the year and the dialogue between the characters is nice to listen.

I saw this movie back when it came out on DVD, but I didn't write reviews then. I just saw this for the second time and since I recently started writing (or at least I'm trying to write) some reviews, I thought might as well do a review on this one.

Blood Diamond (2006)

This is Africa

[8/10 · 8 December 2014]

I watched Traffic the night before I watched Blood Diamond and I can't help to notice the similarity. Both movies have a substance, that makes money for some and makes others suffer for it. In Blood Diamond's case it's, surprise surprise, diamonds. Blood Diamond is more of a popcorn flick movie than Traffic was, but Blood Diamond doesn't lack any of the emotion or depth. Actually I think Blood Diamond had much more emotion than Traffic. Blood Diamond is a great film with good, but at times too convenient, story for my taste. The movie's story is fiction but some of the events happening are/have been real. There is a great mix of fiction and true story blended in.

Leonardo DiCaprio is amazing in the leading role as a smuggler who beneath the rough exterior has a deeper side. Djimon Hounsou is good as well. Both of them were nominated for an Oscar I saw. Jennifer Connelly wasn't too shabby neither.

Real deal however is the beauty of Africa. The film was really filmed in Africa and the result is wonderful. The movie almost feels like a tourist tour to Africa's nature. Also, I have been very pleased with James Newton Howard's scores. Most recently in The Hunger Games series. And this score was once again nothing more than amazing.

Traffic (2000)

Serious drama about a serious topic

[7/10 · 7 December 2014]

Traffic is a movie about drug's influence on people in United States and Mexico. Movie follows various different characters in 4 different story lines. These story lines intervene with each other over the course of the movie. The movie is complex, not cause of a twisted plot, but because there is so many characters that you have to pay attention to. The movie can be slow at times and it sets up the story for quite a while.

The acting is great. Benicio Del Toro gives a scruffy but great performance as a narcotic cop from Mexico. Michael Douglas plays a more conservative character from the other side of the border. Movie features other great actors like Catherine Zeta-Jones and Don Cheadle who play their parts equally well.

Movie deserves credit for it's change in cinematography during scenes in different locations. Scenes happening in Mexico are always brighter and are shot with lower quality. As we move to West Coast USA the picture becomes clearer but the brightness stays. This is a great way to express how USA and/or it's habitants are richer and live more "secure" life than those in Mexico. Scenes taking place in the East Coast are cold and almost blue-ish.

Traffic also has a depressing ambiance. The heavy topic has that effect. It's sometimes hard to watch the struggle of the characters being taken over by drugs. Traffic is a hard movie but recommended.

Road to Perdition (2002)

Predictable but touching story

[8/10 · 4 December 2014]

This film was great. I have a thing for gangster films and this one didn't let me down.

It is a beautiful story about a father and his son who finds out he is a hit-man for the mob. This sets of events that give us a bonding experience between the father and the son.

Tom Hanks' acting was great as the leading man. I was also impressed with Stanley Tucci even though he didn't have that much screen time. But the real deal was Paul Newman in a supporting role. This was actually my first film with him starring in it. So I'm looking forward to watching his older work. I wasn't too keen on Tyler Hoechlin's performance but oh well. It goes I guess. I must say I preferred Kodi Smit-McPhee in The Road. A very similar movie with almost identical role as the innocent little boy.

This movie had a great cinematography and I have to give extra credit to a certain scene where there is rain pouring. Absolutely beautiful to look at. Films' score was also beautiful. The subtle piano was great.

The story was predictable and about halfway to the story it I knew how it was going to end. But other than that this was a great gangster film.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)

If you know to expect a "Part 1" you won't be disappointed

[8/10 · 4 December 2014]

I went to this movie knowing that it will be a filler movie. This Part 1 thing wasn't a problem for me. I was expecting a good set-up movie for the Part 2 and that's what I got. It had emotion and humor mixed well. The story however is slow, probably too slow for some, but the great performances save the day. Jennifer Lawrence, Philip Seymour Hoffman are especially good. Not to forget other cast members.

The movie also gave some wonderful moments. Partly thanks to the great soundtrack by James Newton Howard. I noticed some parts of the soundtrack to be the same from the first film and it was great that they used some of the same music because the first Hunger Games film's soundtrack was amazing.

The movie will need the second part however and I am looking forward to it. The part 2 will surely make this one look better on some viewer's eyes as well.

Concerning the source material. To those who have read the books: I think this movie stays more true to the source material than the earlier ones. Even more than Catching Fire. So in that sense this is my favorite movie of the series. In the sense of a stand alone movie, not so much.

If you liked the first movies you will surely like this one as well. If you didn't like the first ones, well you were probably going to pass on this one anyway so I don't need to tell you to do that.

BUT if you are a new viewer to Hunger Games as a whole, watch the first two first or this will confuse you very much.

The Walking Dead: Still (2014) Season 4, Episode 12

Finally some good episodes/ Why do people watch this show?

[10 March 2014]

Why do people watch this show?

These last episodes (8-13) of season 4, have been the best episodes since season 1 and some occasional good episodes in 2 and 3. But then I see people hating on the 12th episode "Still". We finally have some good character development, since Andrea, and I see people hating on it. Makes me wonder who are the people who watch this show? Little kids who only want to see zombies beaten up?

It's a zombie series and that is the point for sure, to kill zombies. And I like good action, but it's gets overwhelming at times and the action scenes HAVEN'T EVEN BEEN GOOD recently.

Episode 12 "Still" where is not much action if not at all, gets a rating below 7. But every other episode 9, 10, 11, 13 gets a rating over 8. All those episodes have same good character development, but episode 12 doesn't have "action" in it, is immediately hated. I can't understand, because the action in those other episodes is horrible. There is always the same pattern, zombies' brains are plastered and the the character in question kills the last zombie in anger, first knocking it down and kicking it. Maggie does that and new blonde soldier fella' (who was in Band Of Brothers). Same boring, meaningless, and and tension lacking action scenes repeated over and over again. And one episode without those bad scenes gets a bad rating?

This really makes me wonder for what reasons people watch this show. Are people really so dependent on their weekly dose of zombies' brains blown away, that they freak out when they don't get that dose (the case of episode 12)?

I watch this show because I care about the characters and want to learn more about them. Action of course is expected, and I mean GOOD action, not these lazy action scenes that are in there just cause they have to be in there.

AverxgeJoe - A Fellow Viewer