I have three very different movies to review today. I will be reviewing "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" which is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year as well as "Dumb and Dumber To" and "Nightcrawler" which both have a good amount of buzz. Before I get started, I'd like to give a shoutout to the Free Gamer's Alliance YouTube channel. Their videos cover everything from walkthroughs, glitches, easter eggs, and various amusing video game related content, all of which is delivered with some colorful commentary while they have buckets of fun doing it. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/user/FreeGamersAlliance/.
Let's kick this off with "Nightcrawler." Here is the trailer:
- Jake Gyllenhaal gives one of his best performances to date here. He really brings his sociopath of a character to life in a way that will make you so uncomfortable. It's the kind of character that will make you want to put on another layer of clothing whenever he looks at the camera.
- This film manages to look very realistic but also very stylish at the same time.
- The action scenes are expertly choreographed. There is no question that they will get your heart racing.
- If you are into dark humor this movie makes really good use of that.
- The thing that this movie does best is suspense. There are so many scenes that will have you on the edge of your seat.
The Bad:
- While the pacing of the movie is largely good, it does get off to a bit of a slow start. Once it picks up, however, it really gets moving.
The Verdict:
"Nightcrawler" is a stylish, incredibly acted, and suspenseful thriller that will have the audience on the edge of their seat for most of the movie. I would absolutely say that it is worth the ticket price.
It is time to move on to "Dumb and Dumber To." Here is the trailer:
- There is one really good laugh in this movie that results from the most perfect use of an F bomb that I have seen in a movie recently.
The Bad:
- The plot for this movie is so unnecessarily convoluted and it really doesn't need to be. This is especially the case when all they need to do is deliver the laughs. I get the sense that they did this so they could have the many dumb plot twists which they really did not need.
- There were parts of the movie that dragged on way longer than they should have.
- The majority of the movie just isn't funny. I would blame that largely on the fact that they rely far too heavily on toilet humor. I'm not above the odd bodily fluid joke but when it gets used as a crutch it just ends up making me cringe more than laugh.
- Finally, there are a few jokes that are just far too distasteful. I know that they are trying (and failing) to be edgy but there are just certain things that simply go too far.
The Verdict:
"Dumb and Dumber To" is a textbook example of an unnecessary sequel that is lazily made to milk as much money as they can through nostalgia. This one is easily one of the biggest wastes of time in recent memory and I would recommend skipping this one.
Now, let us put that unpleasantness behind us and move on to "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1."
- Having read the source material, I was a bit worried because out the three books "Mockingjay" is by far the worst. That being said, they managed to go about some of the material which is not interesting in the book in ways that make it more compelling in the movie.
- The acting is absolutely spectacular(for the most part). As usual, Jennifer Lawrence absolutely owns this role and I feel that her range is much better displayed here. Also, I am so glad that the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman gets a bigger role here because he absolutely nails it.
- There is a surprisingly good use of comic relief in this movie which is good because this is a fairly grim movie and the comic relief stops it from becoming too depressing.
- Finally, the climax of this movie is where it really shines.
The Bad:
- I know I complained about this in my review of the last movie but it applies here too. Liam Hemsworth could not have been more wooden here. I just don't buy anything he does or "feels" in this movie.
- As this movie is split into two parts (when frankly, it shouldn't be) they do need to stretch things and as a result there are some major pacing issues. There are parts that are really slow and may test your patience.
- There are aspects of this movie that feel super repetitive and that may also test your patience.
The Verdict:
"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" actually manages to be one of the better "Part 1" movies in recent memory. There are some spectacular performances given and some interesting things do happen. That being said, this still feels like the cinematic equivalent of foreplay that goes on for about two hours then having to wait a year for the main event. I think that if you are super invested in the franchise then seeing this in theaters is worth the ticket price. If you aren't but still want to see part 2 next year, then I would say rent it or watch it on Netflix.
Thanks for reading everyone! As usual, feel free to leave a comment but please be advised that if you are going to read any potential comments that spoilers may be present.