#Picks&Piques/SnippetFilmReview28thNov2014/#JohnsonThomas
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#Picks&Piques/SnippetFilmReview28thNov2014/#JohnsonThomas
#Ungli(Hindi) Rating: * * ½ Aiming to touch a chord
with the common man but not with any great finesse or passion. This sort of
‘expose’ vigilantism has become passé now. This film has come a couple of years
too late to connect with the audience!
#DharmaProductions #KaranJohar #NilouferQuereshi #RaindropMedia #RensilD’Silva
#MFilms #AAFilmsNationwide #EmraanHashmi #SanjayDutt #RandeepHooda #NehaDhupia
#KanganaRanaut
#Zid(Hindi) Rating: * * Debutants feature in this #AnubhavSinha
production that makes a song and dance out of nothing. Sexy, Sinful, Sinister
adwords don’t make for an erotic psychological thriller- it’s in fact a little
too much promise with no deliverance. #BenarasMediaworks #JanishHAjmera
#KiranBalaFilms #STVNetworksNationwide #MushtaqShiekh #Manaara #ShraddhaDas #KaranvirSharma
#VivekAgnihotri
·
#HumHainTeenKhurafaati(
Hindi) Rating: * Meant to be funny but painfully unprepossessing &
irritating. #RajeshwarChauhan #MausamSharma #PranshuKaushal #Shreya #NikkitaButola #SoniyaKaur #Panno #LotusMedia&Films
·
#ShapeEntertainmentPvtLtd #ThinkPositivePR
#TheHungerGamesMockingjayPart1(
English) Rating: * * ½ Stretching it
thin. This first part of a two-part sequel of a super successful young-adult
dystopian fantasy adaptation franchise looks like it’s seeking to keep you curious
without giving you the requisite amount of thrills & excitement expected. Far
too grey and grim to cut it with the discerning audience. #PVRPictures #HardlyAnonymousCommunications #AbhishekThukral
#PriyankaVaswani #JenniferLawrence #FrancisLawrence #LiamHemsworth #JoshHutcherson #JulianneMoore #SamClaflin #DonaldSutherland #WoodyHarrelson #ElizabethBanks #PhilipSeymourHoffman #StanleyTucci #NatalieDormer #WesChatham #TobyJones #WillowShields #LilyRabe #EldenHenson #RobertKnepper #JeffreyWright #JenaMalone
English Film review
Johnson Thomas
Unappealingly Grim
Film: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson,Julianne Moore, Sam Claflin, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Stanley Tucci, Natalie Dormer, Wes Chatham, Toby Jones, Willow Shields, Lily Rabe, Elden Henson, Robert Knepper, Jeffrey Wright, Jena Malone
Rating: * * ½
Running
Time: 123
min.
Synopsis:The Hunger Games saga continues in this
sequel that finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) faced with a decision that
could sway the fate of a nation. In the wake of the Quarter Quell, the Hunger
Games have been changed forever, and Katniss ends up in District 13. Her
courage having inspired a nation, the brave young heroine heeds the advice of
her friends, and sets out to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). Meanwhile, Katniss'
fragile alliance with President Coin (Julianne Moore) could lead to disaster.
Review
The making of a two or three part sub
series in a successful franchise only spells greed-not creativity. So anyone
expecting otherwise would be a fool. Director Frances Lawrence and his
scripting team(peter Craig, Danny Strong) fashion a stretched out segment that
is grim and relentlessly dark in it’s essay of dystopian demoralization. Too
much detail, heavy with exposition and very little else, ‘Mockingjay Part 1’
tries to translate as many pages of the successful young adult novel into
screen time without really bothering about it’s cinematic viability. They
definitely think that they’ve earned that luxury but the audience won’t be
bothered to appease them on that. The
result is this unappetizing effort that tries your patience thin.
"Mockingjay, Part 1" picks up
where "Catching Fire" left off, with Katniss, rescued from Quarter
Quell, living in a compound under the rubble of District 13 with her fellow
insurrectionists. The Hunger Games champion survived multiple iterations of
the nationally televised,
gladiator-styled, outlandish reality show, had a cynicism inducing engagement
with the evil President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and became the real hero thanks to her
indomitable spirit, canny image-makers and strategists including once-drunk and
now sober mentor, Haymitch (Woody Harrelson); the propagandist and image consultant
Plutarch (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, to whom the film is dedicated); the
tech genius Betee (Jeffrey Wright), and the image wizard (and ace comic relief)
Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks).
District president Coin (Julianne Moore) helps our heroes through attacks by Snow's
planes and troops while plotting their next salvo. Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) continues to support and pine for
Katniss while she frets over the fate of her great love, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who's being held hostage by Snow's
forces and turned into an anti-Katniss propaganda tool.
Jennifer Lawrence and her co-stars
continue to impress with their screen presence and charisma. Their seriousness
of intent is quite clear and commendable. But the manner in which this edition
of the story plays out, there isn’t much purchase to be had. The excitement is
stymied by a depressive styling and treatment
that leaves you little room for enjoyment. It plays out like a TV series
end play with repetitive sequencing and over-emphasised emotionality. The
runtime, though not much over 2 hrs, appears to be even more.
From setback after setback, meant to
make us feel hopeless, we are shown that Snow’s military advantage is
overwhelming. The aerial assault shots take the cake in this. There’s brief
forays into media commentary and satire that don’t necessarily make their mark
with any depth. The allusions are all there but it’s not specific or committed
to any form of allegory. Katnis assumes the mantle of deliverer against all
odds, sold with a pre-fabricated earnestness and intent. And she rebels from
that position and moves into her own personal brand of sincerity in order to
connect with the deprived. The real world is hinted at but without any great
intent to connect with present day thought. The bleakness in styling and
treatment make it that much more depressing to engage with.
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