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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)
Intense, emotional, and satisfying conclusion to the film series
You're more likely to enjoy this movie if either a) you are a fan of the book series, or b) you are a mature viewer. By mature I don't necessarily mean that you've attained a minimal age in years (though I would say that it is unlikely viewers younger than 10 would appreciate the movie). I mean you can equally enjoy not only faster-paced action sequences but also slower-paced drama. As with the books and previous movies, this last Hunger Games movie has intense moments of both action and drama, but also less intense but still dramatically important sequences of people just talking. I suspect this is what less mature or interested viewers have called the "boring" parts.
However if you like movies that are dynamic in pace and emotionally engaging rather than just one long special effects sequence, and especially if you are a fan of the books, I think you'll appreciate seeing this movie in the theater. Relatively speaking it is a pretty faithful portrayal of the book. The action sequences are brutal and the dramatic sequences are tear-jerking. And on occasion, as with the book, you get hit with both at once several times.
The Death of Richie (1977)
Best drug movie of all time - Watch it with your kids
I remember seeing this movie when it first aired on TV when I was 8. Scared the crap out of me. Richie's story was in the back of my mind every time I said no to drugs and my friends didn't. Because of that I watched this movie with each of my kids shortly before they entered middle school. It's free on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRwXc-WrTWg. As we watched they would ask questions and I would pause the movie and answer their questions. Or sometimes I would pause the movie and comment on something to make sure they understood the significance of what was happening.
I was tempted to give this movie a 9 but I think that was mostly because it seems dated, and I wanted to avoid punishing a movie simply because it was old (I feel the same way about Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, It's a Wonderful Life). Accepting that this movie was made in the 70s, and made for TV, I think it's a 10 in all respects. The story, the writing, the acting by the 3 main characters, and the score just rip your heart to shreds and fill your eyes with tears. Such a powerful, emotional illustration of how drugs destroy families;how kids should never, ever try them, not even once; and how parents should never, ever give up on their kids, no matter what.
Unfortunately this movie tells a true story. Very dark material that will find its way to the darkest parts of your soul. After watching this movie I felt about drug dealers the same way I felt about the Nazis after watching Schindler's List.
Scary.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Brutal, barbaric, beautiful
Not just the best Mad Max movie. The best action film. Ever.
The two main characters are played extremely well for how little dialog is in the movie. Charlize Therone had the acting chops worthy of the franchise. I was a little concerned about a Max not played by Mel Gibson, being a huge fan of Road Warrior, but by the 2nd watch I was used to it. Tom Hardy is a different, less human Max, but still both a sympathetic and bad ass character.
The villains were the best, most complex characters in the franchise yet, with a sufficiently deep and broad back story as well as even some tangible humanity in them. Sure they were still villains and ultimately bad dudes, but in several scenes their mostly hidden redeeming qualities are revealed. They weren't all scumbags like most of the villains in the previous movies.
The photography is crisp and vibrant for a film that moves so fast. But the action isn't the jerky, hard-to-take-in, hand-held camera junk. You can satisfactorily absorb the entire movie blow by blow.
The costumes are right on. Outrageous without being over the top. Lots of possibilities for Halloween.
The best part... The score and soundtrack of this movie really bring out the beauty in the fury, and the chaos in the carnage. Between that and the emotion in the characters, especially the villains, this movie stands above the other 3, even Road Warrior, which was one of my favorites for decades.
The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is because there are still some things I would tweak.
Gravity (2013)
This movie is merely a metaphor for rebirth
I see people complaining about how unrealistic this movie is in terms of the science of space travel. But this is not a sci-fi movie, nor an action movie. It's a drama from beginning to end. The whole thing is a metaphor for rebirth. Sandra Bullock's character essentially died when her child was killed. As often happens in real life, God brought her back through trauma. Symbols of God are shown at multiple points in the movie.
When I say the movie is metaphor for rebirth, I don't mean just spiritually. That was the end result for Sandra's character, of course, but from start to finish the movie lays out in symbolic, physical manifestations the different stages of reproduction:
1. Erection - This is the Russian missile that is used to destroy the satellite.
2. Intercourse - This is the missile launching into space.
3. Ejaculation - This is the missile hitting the satellite, causing the explosion of particles that later wreak havoc on the shuttle.
These 3 phases represent the stereotypical male, carelessly spreading his seed around without thinking about the longer term consequences.
4. Conception - This is when the debris from the satellite strikes the shuttle, triggering the rebirth sequence of the hero.
5. Womb - This is space, where the hero floats around like a baby in amniotic fluid.
6. Umbilical cord - This is the space suit, providing life support to the hero going through the re-birthing process.
6. Mother - This is George Clooney's character, protecting and nurturing the hero going through the re-birthing process.
7. Trimesters - These are the 3 different space craft used during the re-birthing process. In once scene the hero even lays there clearly in the fetal position.
8. Water breaking - This is the break-up of the last spacecraft as it prepares to deliver the hero to life on earth.
9. Labor - This is the chaotic descent of the landing module through the atmosphere. There is even this interesting sound effect at the start of the musical track for this scene that symbolizes the mother's scream of pain (it's not a sound a spacecraft would make, and it's timed with the music, not the action).
10. Cutting the cord - This is when the hero takes off her space suit in the water now that it is no longer needed as she prepares to take her first breath back on earth.
And of course at the end Sandra's character very slowly stands back up and starts to walk in a staggered fashion, much like a baby learning to do that for the first time.
Like most great movies this one is not about how things are, but about how things should be. I think you'll like it a lot if you treat it as a drama and not sci-fi/action.