Nerd in the 'Noke

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015), PG-13, 137 minutes - Four years after the first Hunger Games adaptation hit the big screen with overwhelming success, we have come to the end of the franchise.  I remember feeling a bit apprehensive when they first announced that the trilogy of books by Suzanne Collins would become four films.  I was worried that the decision was a money grab by the studio.  That feeling was alleviated last year after seeing how Mockingjay - Part 1 played out and now, after seeing the finale that is Mockingjay - Part 2, I must admit that my worries were unfounded. Much like previous installments, Mockingjay - Part 2 picks up moments after the previous film ended, jumping immediately into the next chapter and not looking back.  Mockingjay - Part 1 set up the budding revolutionary forces of districts two through thirteen and Part 2 sees that revolution play out.  Feeling that Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) - the Mockingjay and living...

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014), PG-13, 123 minutes - Those familiar with the books know that The Hunger Games was originally a trilogy, the third installment of which was Mockingjay.  Shortly after the monumental success of the first film in 2012, it was announced that not only would they be completing The Hunger Games story on the big screen, but that the final chapter would be split into two films (which seems to have become a popular trend in recent years).  At the time of the announcement, I was a little disappointed.  Being a fan of the books, I didn't feel as though splitting Mockingjay was necessary.  It just seemed like a greedy Hollywood move.  Having seen Mockingjay - Part 1, I have to admit that I now understand why they made the split. Mockingjay - Part 1 takes place shortly after the end of last year's Catching Fire.  Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) awakens in the care of the District 13 facility which was previously believed to ...

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), PG-13, 146 minutes - Followers of my blog know how much I enjoyed the books and the first film in The Hunger Games franchise (those who don't can catch up  here ).  They also know that I try to be relatively spoiler free but as one could probably guess, that can be hard with sequels.  Especially when they are clearly planned as a multi-installment story.  If you haven't either seen last year's The Hunger Games or read the books, not only do I highly recommend that you do, but I also warn you against reading further as there are just some things that I won't be able to avoid.  Ok, now that that's out of the way... The Hunger Games: Catching Fire picks up almost a year after Katniss (Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) were declared co-victors of The Hunger Games.  They are about to embark on a Victor's Tour leading up to the next Hunger Games when President Snow (Donald Sutherland) pays Katniss a visit.  He...

The Hunger Games (2012), PG-13, 142 minutes - A year ago, an old college friend had recommended that I read The Hunger Games. I did, and I couldn't put the book down (or either of its two sequels).  After reading the trilogy by Suzanne Collins, I eagerly waited for the movie that had been announced that would star a very good young actress named Jennifer Lawrence who had received a Best Actress nomination at the Oscars for Winter's Bone  and who had also been in last summer's blockbuster  X-Men: First Class .  This all lead to Gary Ross's big screen adaptation ranking #2 on my most anticipated movies of 2012 list  earlier this year and it didn't disappoint. For those not familiar with the books, The Hunger Games takes place in a dystopian nation known as Panem (basically a post apocalyptic North America) in which the all of the rich and privileged folk live in the Capital which runs the country.  The rest of the country is split into 12 districts,...

The Eagle (2011), PG-13, 114 minutes - I wasn't really sure what to expect going into The Eagle. On one hand, it is a Roman epic, which is generally the type of film I jump all over. On the other hand, The Eagle's star is Channing Tatum. And in the past, the only movie that he starred in that I enjoyed was Stop-Loss. He tends to headline 'chick flicks' (not that that's a bad thing, they just don't interest me at all) but definitely has the potential to be a leading action man. So, walking out of the theater with a couple friends after watching The Eagle, I was pleasantly surprised with what I had just seen. Tatum plays Marcus Aquila a young Roman Centurian who strives to find out what happened to Rome's storied Ninth Legion, and as a result, what happened to his father (the commander of the Ninth) so that he can clear the family's name. He is joined in his quest by his British slave Esca (Jamie Bell). The relationship between Marcus and Esca is ...

The Mechanic (2011), R, 93 minutes - The Mechanic is the latest entry into the Jason Statham library of action flicks as well as being a remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson film of the same name. I haven't seen Bronson's original so I won't be able to compare and contrast (although I am curious to see it now). Statham plays Arthur Bishop, a hitman, an assassin, but prefers to be called a 'mechanic' because he 'fixes problems'. He works for an organization that employs many mechanics that carry out assignments that range anywhere from personal grudges to political gain. After one job, Arthur takes his mentor's (Harry McKenna played by Donald Sutherland) lost and underachieving son Steve (Ben Foster) under his wing. He teaches Steve what it takes to be a mechanic and even let's Arthur carry out one of his assignments. Steve develops a taste for a mechanic's work and begins helping Arthur with jobs, which the organization that Arthur works f...