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...