Film Review | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II | * Some SPOILERS *

The rebellion is here. Snow’s end is coming. The Capitol will fall. 

This is war.

The Story

Katniss has one goal: kill Snow.

Her goal is tainted with lies and deceit; friends turn into enemies and enemies turn into allies. No one is safe and there’s no way to know what’s real and not real. Katniss, Gale, Peeta and the rest of Panem need to determine who is for them and who is against them.

Picking up where Part I finished, we see Katniss recovering physically and mentally from Peeta’s grasp – or more accurately, The Capitol’s grasp. Following Suzanne Collins’s book closely, this final instalment to The Hunger Games franchise has you at the edge of your seat from start to finish.

There are no surprises for those who’ve read the book. Director, Francis Lawrence, accurately portrays every aspect of Collins’s devastatingly dark finale. I cannot wait to have a Hunger-Games-Marathon when the DVD / Blu-ray box set comes out next year.

The Cast

Jennifer Lawrence closes this trilogy with the same prowess that she harnessed in the first film. Josh Hutcherson grew into his character and gave us the Peeta that we all know and love from the books. Donald Sutherland continued to captivate you as his icy, yet truthful portrayal of tyranny came falling graciously.

Liam Hemsworth, along with Sam Claflin both get two thumbs up for their incredible performances – and keeping their American accents well in-tact. It was nice to see Gale’s more emotional side in this film and Claflin gave Finnick a beautiful (*SPOILER ALERT* for non-readers) send-off with his incredible fight sequence, fighting “Capitol Mutts” powered by special effects – not to mention being waterlogged and underground.

Julianne Moore and Willow Shields also get honourable mentions for their incredible commitment to bringing iconic characters to life. (*ANOTHER Spoiler Alert*) Shields gave an incredible salute to her character as she gave the camera one last look of innocence to spoil the one connection that Gale and Katniss truly had – a promise to keep her family safe. Moore gave everything she had in order to become the new voice of autocracy. She gave a beautiful performance in order for Katniss to destroy all spectacles.

As a whole, the cast (including: Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Elizabeth Banks, along with Paula Malcomson, Stanley Tucci, Jeffrey Wright and Jena Malone) all deserve ★★★★★ for their performances over the last four years. Their dedication to bringing this trilogy to life was incredible.

Overall, this ending is bittersweet for this film enthusiast. I have enjoyed watching every movie that they’ve produced for this franchise, but I am also glad that they were able to close the franchise with a proper goodbye. It’s not just a message about strength and having a voice, it’s also about learning from the past in order to prevent damage for the future – a message we all desperately need to hear.

sL Star Rating: ★★★★★
Next on sL: WRITING HIATUS

Hey Guys!

I'm heading off to the U.S.A. for the holidays, so I won't have anything for you until the New Year. But if you go to my YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/strictlyLeisure), I'm sure to have great adventures to share with you!

Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the New Year!

Love always,

sL xxx

FILM REVIEW | Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hucherson) are back for the wildest ride of their life – The Winner’s Tour. With revolution ripe from the 74^th Hunger Games, where Katniss and Peeta defied the Capitol by being the first winners to be from the same district (not to mention, defying the odds of having a single winner), President Snow (Donald Sutherland) is breathing down their necks to maintain his control over the twelve districts.

But with the reality of hope seeping through the districts, the 75^th Hunger Games Quarter Quell has sent even more uproar as past winners are being brought back into the arena, once gain risking their lives for the sake of entertainment.

The Story

For those of you who haven’t read the trilogy, this second instalment to the Hunger Games simply sees Katniss and Peeta attempting to keep their “star-crossed lovers” act alive for the duration of both the Winner’s Tour and the next leg of the Games. Gale (Liam Hemsworth) also returns, but this time as the wedge of reality and reason between the couple.

This time the Games are more dangerous; everyone that will enter the arena have entered it once before – and WON. Each contestant had their own means of winning the Games before, thus everyone is just as deadly as the other – no matter what district they’re from.

It’s a great adaptation of the book and follows the story nicely, allowing you to enjoy the progression of the story from the first film. What this film does well that the first film seemed to lack, was the creation of the unseen events of the book (since it was written from Katniss’s perspective) to the screen. In saying that, it could possibly be because the first film set the pattern for this film, thus, making it easier to appreciate the poetic license of adding the Gamemaker’s room and Plutrach Heavensbee’s (Phillip Seymore Hoffman) conversations with President snow.

The Cast

Reprising their roles, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson (Haymitch), Elizabeth Banks (Effie), along with Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman) all stepped it up a notch in giving their characters a different dynamic for the pressing demands of the Quarter Quell. They all brought a darker side of their characters, which gave the new comers are great playing field when it came to supporting them.

Sam Clafin and Jena Malone were the two standouts for me as I was watching the film. Playing Finnick Odair – District 4’s seemingly self-absorbed, good-looking “darling of the Capitol” – and Johanna Mason – a feisty firecracker with not remorse from District 7 – both played a great contrast to Lawrence’s and Hutcherson’s “stubborn-girl and loving-boy” portrayals. Malone was the extreme version of Lawrence’s characters and Clafin was the flirt that Hutcherson’s character could never be – or would ever want to be.

Overall the film was a great adaptation of the book and it left you wanting more. It was exciting, moving and thrilling all at once. It’s one everyone will enjoy no matter what age you are. I recommend reading the series, but like I said, the film can stand alone if you’ve seen the first film. If you do watch it without seeing the first one, I’m sure you’ll pick the story up pretty easily, but you may not have the emotional attachments to the scenes and characters as those around you (:P).

sL Star Rating: ★★★★★

Next on sL: TBA