The Hunger Games

First Hit:  A tad long but a satisfying storyline, some great acting and visually enticing.

This is an age old story about the have and have-nots.

The haves living their life of opulence and self-aggrandizing while they abuse the have-nots by making their young kill each other for their pleasure and television amusement. Remind you of history? 

If this is a picture of how we could end up, it is very sad. Oppression of another human being is not the way out of our inability to see each and every human being as our equal.

In this version of this old story, Katniss (played by Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers to step in for her younger sister who was selected, in her first year of eligibility, to be one of two warriors from the depressed area called District 12. From age 12 to age 18, once a year each district (there are 12) must submit two warriors to compete to the death as homage to their society and/or religious beliefs.

Her partner from District 12 is Peeta (played by Josh Hutcherson) a quiet unassuming boy who has had a difficult history. Together they are take a modern train to a very modern opulent city where they are groomed and trained to kill each other and the other 22 participants.

They are coached by a heavily drinking guide named Haymitch (played by Woody Harrelson) and kind stylist named Cinna (played by Lenny Kravitz). The behind the scenes producer for the television program which everyone watches is Seneca Crane (played by Wes Bentley). He is under the guidance of President Snow (played by Donald Sutherland).

The MC for the television program where they are interviewed before being set out to kill each other is Caesar Flickerman (played by Stanley Tucci). One character which stood out for me besides the main characters was Rue (Amandla Stenberg) who was one of the 24 selected to be part of the killing. Her soft kindness and presence was one of the hopes of a better generation.

The visual shots, at times, were stunning the utopian city was well crafted to reflect both future and totalitarian Nazi like symbols. However, some of the hand-held stuff was just jerky stupid. One does not see the world in this jerky way and makes me wonder about the overuse and intentional camera movement.

Lawrence was, as she was in “Winter’s Bone” driven, clear and with feeling and kindness. She has an ability to emote strength and heartfelt empathy in one look. Hutcherson was solid as the guy who knew he was going to die, was self-effacing and yet let it be known he was in love. Harrelson was, again, superb. Kravitz was very strong as someone who cared about the participants. Tucci was on the edge of being over the top as the MC – wonderful job. Bentley was good but I was very distracted by his beard. Stenberg was sublime. Sutherland was very good as the President who controlled the games uncaringly. Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray created a strong script from the book of the same name. Gary Ross allowed this film to unfold well but some of his choices of camera shots – especially the jerky ones were ill advised and take away from being engaged with the film.

Overall:  This was enjoyable if a bit long and made me wonder why this film and the books are aimed at and popular with teens.

Horrible Bosses

First Hit:  Uneven film from the beginning but in the end it came together enough to be enjoyable.

Nick Hendricks (played by Jason Bateman) works in a large corporation for Dave Harkin (played by Kevin Spacey) who is the perfect ultimate jerk of a boss.

He lies about Nick, takes advantage of his work ethic, and is vindictive. Dale Arbus (played by Charlie Day) who only wants to be married to his fiancé works as a dental assistant for Dr. Julia Harris D.D.S. (played by Jennifer Aniston) who is a very horny dentist and spends most of her time trying to persuade Dale to screw her at work while the patients are under anesthesia. Kurt Buckman (played by Jason Sudeikis) is a top account manager for a local company. He works for Jack Pellit (played by Donald Sutherland) who admires Kurt, but Jack dies and his son Bobby (played by Colin Farrell) is anointed to run the company.

Bobby is self-obsessive and a cocaine and sex addict. He begins to make Kurt’s life miserable. The three are friends and during one of their nights out they hatch a plan to kill their bosses. Of course they know nothing about it and end up seeking advice from Dean “MF” Jones (played by Jamie Foxx).

After the introduction of these characters and their reasons why they want their bosses dead, the film falls into series of bits, some funny some not.

Eventually the film finds its story and legs and comes home in a reasonably satisfying way.

Bateman is the settling energy and most reasonable person in this film. He’s also funny. Spacy is, for me, the scene stealer. When he’s on the screen he’s definitely worth watching. Day is at his best when he accidentally inhales a bunch of cocaine he’s cleaning up. Aniston is playing a role very unlike her normal roles and she is a hoot to watch. Sudeikis is suave as a guy who is not necessarily handsome but smooth enough to get almost anyone to have sex with him. Farrell is almost non-recognizable but his abilities to express are all Farrell. Fox is wonderfully intense and funny to watch as the professional murder consultant. Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan M. Goldstein wrote this script and for the most part it felt like a bunch of un-integrated bits. Seth Gordon directed the film but seemed lost after the strong beginning, but was able to bring it home well enough.

Overall: Although this film was lost much of the time, it did come together at the end to make the sit worthwhile.

The Mechanic

First Hit: I liked the first film with Charles Bronson and I fully enjoyed this one with Jason Statham.

Charles Bronson had the look and feel of someone who was very tough with hidden intelligence.

Jason Statham as Arthur Bishop plays The Mechanic as intelligent first and physically tough second but when required he is tough really tough.

Bishop gets misled into killing his best friend Harry McKenna (played by Donald Sutherland) and mentor based on fabricated evidence. When he learns that he was tricked, he decides to mentor McKenna’s wayward and intense son Steve (played by Ben Foster) to be a mechanic. Together they do a couple of jobs and then go after Dean (played by Tony Goldwyn) who put out the hit on Harry.

Not all the kills involve bombs or guns. Many of them are stealth in nature and require lots of planning. This film does it well and Statham does it very well.

Statham is perfect as the quiet, straight forward, intelligent and focused mechanic. Sutherland is believable as Statham’s mentor. Foster is really good as the wayward mixed up son who needs to find a life path. Goldwyn is good as the ego driven guy who thinks he’s got everything under control but finds his ending commensurate with his actions. Simon West directed this with effectiveness.

Overall: Although the film is about killing effectively, it was enjoyable and well done.