Movies: Mass Post... Part I

I've watched a heap of movies lately so this will probably be a multi-post as well but I thought we'd start with some of the more kid friendly ones and then I can have fun berating the not to so awesome ones in a second post... how's that sound?

The theme song for The Lego Movie has been stuck in my head ever since I saw this movie. It just randomly explodes out of me sometimes... "Everything is awesome!" I loved this movie, especially Batman (Will Arnett) and Superman (Channing Tatum) and Green Lantern (Jonah Hill). Starring Elizabeth Banks (Hunger Games), Alison Brie (Community), Will Ferrell (Anchorman), Liam Neeson (Taken), Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption), Chris Pratt (Guardians of The Galaxy) and a whole range of others. Made entirely in Australia, even though we were the last country to have a release date. Worth watching more than once to catch all the Easter Eggs. Everything is awesome!

I can't remember who recommended me Space Pirate Captain Harlock but it had been a while since I'd watched any anime and when I saw the preview for this one I was immediately captivated by the awesome space pirate ship, Arcadia. I watched it English dubbed, which I don't normally do because they just can't seem get the same inflections as the Japanese do, but this was dubbed really well! I loved the animation style though the husband complained that it felt like he was in a video game... that was what I liked about it! The story is a bit long winded, I had to watch it twice to follow the whole thing and even then I'm still confused by the very end... But totally worth it. Apparently there is a manga too but the animation on it is not quite as awesome as the movie, which I would watch a third time.

Mr Peabody & Sherman is a brand new, digitally animated film based on the characters from the old Rocky and Bullwinkle Show! I was pretty excited when I saw the title because of course I recognised the name and I'm a sucker for these reminiscent type films. Mr Peabody (Ty Burrell) has built a time machine in order to teach his adoptive son Sherman (Max Charles) history. Of course they hit a few snags on the way, the least of which is Penny (Ariel Winter), a girl from Sherman's school who teases him about being a dog and then gets lost in ancient Egypt. There's a rollcall of important people throughout history and Mr Peabody comes out with some of the most hilarious puns. The kids will love this one.

(Not exactly kid friendly but I couldn't resist...) After the fastest earning Kickstarter program ever, the Veronica Mars Movie was funded by fans worldwide nine years after the show ended... and it was totally worth it! If you're a marshmallow like me, you would have been just as excited that all of our tweeting to stars Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring, as well as writer and director Rob Thomas, finally paid off in a Kickstarter campaign that clicked over faster than the seconds. It's $2million goal was fully funded in under 10 hours! That is some crazy fans right there. So Veronica (Bell)  is now a lawyer and of course Logan (Dohring) find himself caught in a bit of a bind and in need of her help... So she dusts off the detective gear and gets to work. Classic Veronica Mars, exactly what the fans asked for! Will watch again for sure.

That's all for now but don't worry, I have a massive list of movies lined up for you.

Love Gee
xoxo

Movie: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Action, Adventure, Sci Fi

I am joining the masses in swooning over Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook, Winter's Bone) - she is amazing, though I'm more impressed with how she handles herself in the spotlight. She is a proper role model for young girls. This isn't her best film by a long way but I have to applaud her for making me more sympathetic to Katniss.

When I read these books (by Suzanne Collins) Katniss annoyed the absolute hell out of me. She is even more complacent than Bella (Twilight). She seems to achieve things but really it's more the people around her helping her. You don't get any of her internal monologue in the films - thank goodness - because she spends most of the time completely oblivious to the things going on around her. I felt like slapping her sometimes. JLaw seems to bring a bit more confidence to the character, which I like.

The two love interests - yes, I said two - are Peeta (Josh Hutcherson - Red Dawn, Bridge To Terabithia) the baker's boy who's always had a thing for Katniss and fellow Hunger Games winner, and Gale (Aussie Liam Hemsworth - Neighbours, Paranoia) Katniss' best friend and hunting partner. Unfortunately for Katniss and Gale, in order to win the Hunger Games Katniss and Peeta had to pretend to be madly in love. This is where the books annoyed me; it's damn obvious to us that Peeta actually has real feelings for Katniss but she is so absorbed in her own self and not being able to have Gale that she completely disregards Peeta. Ugh! There is a little of this in the film but it's not nearly as blatant as in the books.

Stand out performances for me were Effie Trinket played by Elizabeth Banks (Zack and Miri Make a Porno, 30 Rock) and her amazing outfits! Donald Sutherland (Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, MASH) as the nefarious President Snow. Lenny Kravitz as Cinna (sobs). Stanley Tucci (Burlesque, Captain America) as the very bronzed Caesar. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Moneyball, Almost Famous) as the new game maker, Plutarch Heavensbee. Woody Harrelson (Zombieland, Natural Born Killers) as drunken Haymitch. And finally, Sam Claflin (Snow White and The Huntsman) as Finnick Odair.

This film was much better than the first and I'm sure the next one will be even better! That's the way it was with the books too, it's got a really nice build up and by the end the whole game has changed. I can't think of anything from the books that I missed in the film. The arena was just as I imagined it from the Lightning Tree to the Tsunami. Well done!

Next film we get to see The Mockingjay in action! Can't wait!

4 out of 5 crazy false eyelashes...