Showing posts with label Sci-Fi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sci-Fi. Show all posts

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)

PG-13  |  137 min  |  Adventure, Sci-Fi  |  20 November 2015 (USA)
7.1
Your rating:   
-/10 
Ratings: 7.1/10 from 46,773 users   Metascore: 65/100
Reviews: 211 user | 295 critic | 44 from Metacritic.com

As the war of Panem escalates to the destruction of other districts by the Capitol, Katniss Everdeen, the reluctant leader of the rebellion, must bring together an army against President Snow, while all she holds dear hangs in the balance.

Director: Francis Lawrence
Writers: Peter Craig (screenplay), Danny Strong (screenplay), 2 more credits »
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth |











Storyline

After young Katniss Everdeen agrees to be the symbol of rebellion, the Mockingjay, she tries to return Peeta to his normal state, tries to get to the Capitol, and tries to deal with the battles coming her way...but all for her main goal; assassinating President Snow and returning peace to the Districts of Panem. As her squad starts to get smaller and smaller, will she make it to the Capitol? Will she get revenge on Snow? Or will her target change? Will she be with her "Star-Crossed Lover", Peeta? Or her long time friend, Gale? Deaths, Bombs, Bows and Arrows, A Love Triangle, Hope. What will happen? Written by baileyyybroooks


User Reviews
Basically, Katniss gave up two movies ago.
19 November 2015 | by GoneWithTheTwins

As the districts of Panem unite to battle the tyrannical President Snow (Donald Sutherland) at the Capitol, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) prepares for her toughest mission yet. Heading to District 2 as a propagandistic member of commander Boggs' (Mahershala Ali) Squad 451, Katniss joins forces with old and new allies, including Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin), Cressida (Natalie Dormer), Castor (Wes Chatham), and Pollux (Elden Henson). Following behind the rebel front lines, the group must evade scattered Peacekeeper soldiers, mine fields, and cunning Gamemakers' pods – booby traps outfitted with all manner of deviously destructive capabilities. When Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is thrust into her care once again, and an unexpected tragedy forces Katniss to take command, she must make a decision that will impact not only the lives of her friends but also the very fate of Panem.

The film start mid-scene, which is fitting since the previous installment ended Storylinein about the same fashion. It makes no attempt to mask the fact that it's half a movie, half a story, and ultimately just a further adventure for a band of characters that shouldn't have progressed past the first theatrical episode. The shame with this franchise is that even though it kicked off the craze for teen dramas set in dystopian futures, its insistence on stretching out the plot over several pictures means that it has now become just as generic and derivative as the plethora of copycats it inspired.

The only realism to the rebellion is its longevity – and its slowness. It makes sense that it takes a considerable amount of time to overthrow a corrupt regime, itself a system that has become dictatorial and oppressive over the course of decades. What doesn't make sense is the speed in which the history of "The Hunger Games" tends to repeat itself – and the actions of its inhabitants as they switch allegiances or change behaviors to match a contrived plot twist. Peeta's brainwashing in the previous film spills over onto other characters as if they were also influenced by insect toxin torture.

Meanwhile, as the storyline alternates between rousing speeches, insubordinate maneuvers, and surprise attacks, Katniss retains her infuriatingly reckless routines. She's lost all of the momentum of her survivalist toughness from the actual kill-or-be-killed, gladiatorial competitions; now she only exhibits a carelessness and an unintelligence that proves she doesn't understand the importance of her role as a symbol, the severity of warfare, or the benefits of hatching a plan. Nearly every one of her endeavors begins with impulsiveness or arrogance and ends with blind luck. She never once demonstrates acumen as she treks across 75 blocks of booby-trapped metropolitan ruins; rather, she proceeds with a repetitious circle of foolhardy instincts and last-minute escapes fueled by well-timed rescuers. It also doesn't help that Katniss' attitude stays in a constant funk, as if she's a whining, remorseful, intimidated, hollow shell of a person, devoid of the will to carry on fighting. For the most part, she gave up two movies ago.

Even when the set designs show potential as battlegrounds of claustrophobic, mazy terrors, they're spoiled by traditional zombie hordes or video game-like deathtraps. The postapocalyptic terrain and its strange denizens can't muster the inventiveness necessary to put this project above the countless other features that borrowed from the success of the original. It seems that the writers ran out of steam after "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." It also doesn't help that the long-awaited wrapping up of loose ends, the serving up of retribution to the evil culprits of a four-part series, and the witnessing of outcomes of so many characters provide little real satisfaction, continually hiding behind the idea that war is hell. A "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" styled finale (which is essentially coda after coda after coda) and the most unconvincing of love triangles further cement "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" as something much less than a complete movie and far more disappointing than a muddled bit of juvenile science-fiction outgrowth.

    The Massie Twins





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Terminator Genisys (2015)

PG-13  |  126 min  |  Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi  |  1 July 2015 (USA)
6.7
Your rating:  
-/10
Ratings: 6.7/10 from 143,148 users   Metascore: 38/100
Reviews: 795 user | 445 critic | 41 from Metacritic.com

When John Connor, leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline.

Director: Alan Taylor
Writers: Laeta Kalogridis, Patrick Lussier, 2 more credits »
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke |











Storyline

When John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including the Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger), dangerous new enemies, and an unexpected new mission: To reset the future...


User Reviews
 

Forget the Critics
2 July 2015 | by lquessenberry (United States) – See all my reviews

I may be one of the flock, but I am a big fan of the Terminator franchise. This movie was appropriately delivered to fans of the franchise more than the prior 2 sequels. Arnold was Arnold and genuinely looked like he was having fun with the role. The story to me was pretty well written and despite lots of turns along the way, was engaging. There was plenty of comic relief. The battle scenes play homage to the aesthetic and look of the future wars in the 1st two movies.

Emilia Clarke did a pretty good job of playing Sarah Connor although she might have been a little softer looking than Linda Hamilton, I think the justification of the plot makes you understand a little more of how and why she is the way she is.

I'll tell you what they didn't do in this film. They didn't go and screw up the source material like the Star Trek reboots have. This story plays out a different scenario but the characters both old and new are familiar and this movie was done very well with respect to the source materials. If you are a fan of the franchise, you'll feel like you are getting more of what you might have had to imagine way back in the 1984 film. You'll enjoy it.

Any fan of T1 and T2 should go and see this and add it to your library.




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Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Mad Max: Fury Road 
R | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | 15 May 2015 (USA)  
Ratings: 8.2/10 
Director: George Miller
Writers: George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, 1 more credit »
Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult | See full cast  and crew »  


About this movie: A woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in post apocalyptic Australia in search for her homeland with the help of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper, and a drifter named Max.
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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) 

PG-13  |  137 min  |  Adventure, Sci-Fi

 As the war of Panem escalates to the destruction of other districts by the Capitol, Katniss Everdeen, the reluctant leader of the rebellion, must bring together an army against President Snow, while all she holds dear hangs in the balance.

Director: Francis Lawrence
Writers: Peter Craig (screenplay), Danny Strong (screenplay), 2 more credits »
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth | See full cast and crew »  

Read more »