The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

The Hunger Games is one of those series that I never really give any thought towards until the next film comes around, and apparently it’s been a year since Mockingjay - Part 1. Francis Lawrence - who has directed all but the first of the films – has returned to wrap-up the young-adult series with Mockingjay - Part 2. 

The nation of Panem is now in the midst of a civil war, with the rebels led by President Coin (Julianne Moore) looking to assassinate President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and unify the districts. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is recovering from the injuries that Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) has caused her and their relationship is in turmoil as he becomes more and more unstable. The time has come to take down President Snow, with the rebels planning to film Katniss assassinating him as the ultimate piece of propaganda. 

Traversing through the Capitol to reach the palace is a challenge. Snow has evacuated the perimeter and transformed it into a sadistic minefield of unique ways to die. Katniss and the District 13 unit undertake the challenging mission with her friends Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin) and Cressida (Natalie Dormer), who is to direct the propaganda piece. This is their best chance to take down Snow’s regime, but it’s certainly no easy task. 

There are some interesting side-stories in Part 2 that jazz up the arcs of the various characters - such as Peeta’s inability to control himself at points due to the Capitol's brainwashing, and Finnick’s marriage which gives his character more of a reason to fight for Panem’s freedom - and this is essentially still an ensemble film, however the ‘will they, won’t they, and with whom?’ love triangle between, Katniss, Peeta and Gale is beginning to wear extremely thin, and is resolved in both an expected and confusing way. The same can be said for most of the film, it reaches the point that you knew it would, but in a convoluted and stretched-out manner. Most of the film feels like a montage and is at times, difficult to follow. They could have had about five end-points before they finally finish with such an overly-sentimental, unnecessary scene that it actually detracts from the quality of the film. It’s as if the producers were desperately trying to hold on to the only half-decent Young Adult film series they have. 

On top of this there are plot-holes and timing issues that quite noticeably screw with the sense of immersion. For example at the beginning of the film, following on from the injuries she sustained at the end of the last, Katniss is almost completely unable to speak. However, no more than five minutes later, she’s up and having a healthy conversation with President Coin and Plutarch - the last filmic appearance of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and a reminder that this movie was (largely) filmed years ago, at the same time as Part 1. Perhaps that’s why it feels so rushed. It’s uncertain how much time is passing throughout Mockingjay - Part 2, and that removes much of the tension that it works so needlessly to build up. 

To redeem itself from some of these issues, Mockingjay - Part 2 does have some pretty intense fight sequences, including a weird hot-oil chase and a sewer-system scene which is either a homage or a shameless rip-off of Aliens, depending on how you view it. The concept of President Snow evacuating the outskirts of the Capitol and filling the streets with a system of eloquent booby-traps is a pretty cool idea, but it does feel a bit-too much like it’s YA competitor The Maze Runner - perhaps it’s a big F-You from the author, Suzanne Collins to Maze Runner’s James Dashner. 

Past issues with the characters again crop-up again here, with Natalie Dormer’s Cressida as annoying as ever, Woody Harrelson barely making an appearance, and Moore’s President Coin a bland mirror of Snow, preaching a distorted view of what ultimately becomes the same ideology. President Snow is still pretty much the only likable character for me, with his eccentric bond-villian persona the guilty pleasure of the series, played expertly by the great Donald Sutherland. Although I must say Katniss is suitably badass for such a finale. Ultimately though I care about as much for the characters as I do for the world that they inhabit. 

For an impartial-viewer, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is a relatively satisfying, albeit overly long and convoluted conclusion to a series that’s never particularly gelled with me. It has its issues but keeps your attention fairly well. If you’re a massive fan, I can’t speak for how much you’ll enjoy it, but it’s certainly worth a watch even if only to serve as a catharsis for the many hours you’ve already spent delving into this series.

Director Appreciation: Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson is truly a modern auteur in every sense of the word. In his career spanning nearly two decades has consistently made films that are both critically acclaimed and crowd pleasers. His penchant for long sweeping narratives with lots of characters is one of his films defining traits, along with vibrant visuals and the odd long take, that usually follows one or more characters through an amazing set piece.

Like Wes Anderson, P.T.A. is known for his collaborations with many actors on his films, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzmán, William H. Macy and, most recently, Joaquin Phoenix. He has also directed actors to give some truly career defining performances, most notably Daniel Day-Lewis (it's a performance that really sticks out in a career of amazing ones) and Adam Sandler (who surprised everyone).

Anderson's main themes used throughout his films are dysfunctional families, alienation and loneliness. Most of his characters are flawed and seek to redeem themselves from these flaws through their interaction with others.

Boogie Nights (1997)
"I'm a star. I am a big, bright, shining star."


Anderson has spoken openly about the amount of porn he watched in his teenage years to inspire the making of this film. It chronicles the meteoric rise of young porn star Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg), as he rises to fame in the adult film world, mentored by producer Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds).
























As much as this is a film about the Golden Era of Pornography in the late 1970s, it can also be viewed as modern tragedy with an almost dynastic feel to it, as Dirk is taken in by an unlikely family that rises and falls. Toward the end of the film there are some really scary scenes where the characters reach desperate times and do whatever they can to stay in the lives they have created for themselves and realise life is harder than they wanted it to be.

The film sports some amazing performances, including that of its star Mark Wahlberg. Although he'd been in movies before this one, it's his performance as Dirk that really shows that he had some great skills when it came to being a serious actor. John C. Reilly gives one of my favourite performances of his as fellow actor Reed Rothchild and Phil Hoffman is just hilarious as Scotty, a sound guy who falls in love with Dirk. That's not to mention other great performances offered up by Julianne Moore, Heather Graham and Don Cheadle.

Punch Drunk Love (2002)
"I have a love in my life and that makes me stronger than anything you can imagine."



















Barry Egan (Sandler) is a timid, shy and single man who owns a warehouse that markets novelty items. He has seven sisters who all abuse him emotionally to the point of lashing out. One day he meets Lena (Emily Watson), whom he falls in love with immediately. Barry is also being extorted by a phone sex operator, whose boss is the explosive Dean Trumbell (Phil Hoffman again).

The world that Anderson has created with this film is extremely developed. Barry wears a blue suit for the whole movie and it is hinted that this is the first time that he has worn the suit, leading you to think what he usually wears that makes this such a surprise for the other characters. The film also has an exceptionally intriguing subplot in which Barry discovers that he can get around a loophole in a coupon deal for cheap air miles by buying extremely large quantities of chocolate pudding, leading to a superb little dance in a supermarket aisle and me thinking if he isn't slightly autistic.

The film has a surreal quality to it, with vibrant colours distorting the frame constantly, as well as lens flares that would make J.J. Abrams blush. Most of the music adds to the feeling; the main music is played on a harmonium, which gives the film a calming quality. The calmness is intercut with high intensity sounds that are repeated (I wouldn't necessarily call it music) at times when the characters are under pressure.

Every so often Adam Sandler offers up a performance that proves he can beyond shabbadoo and it takes a director like Anderson or Judd Apatow with Funny People (2009) to bring it out of him. Barry is a nervous, compulsive character and Sandler handles him well. Phil Hoffman's Dean Trumbell is an amazing powder-keg of a man and although Hoffman is only on screen for a total of five minutes, he leaves a lasting impression.

There Will Be Blood (2007)
"There's a whole ocean of oil under our feet! No one can get at it except for me!"

For most audiences, the idea of a movie about oil drilling, especially in the early 1900s, would sound incredibly boring. But when a director such as Anderson combines forces with an actor like Daniel Day-Lewis, one of the greatest actors alive, it makes for an extremely captivating movie.

Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) is an oil baron who has oil drilling operations all around the state of California. His attention is brought to a possible oil claim in the small settlement of Little Boston, where he buys a ranch from the Sunday family, where he believes the oil is. He soon comes to confront Eli Sunday, one of the sons and pastor of the community's parish.

This is Anderson's best film. It looks at both dysfunctional families and greed. As the film progresses, Daniel does more and more heinous things to increase his wealth, whilst becoming more and more distant from his adopted son, H.W. Day-Lewis gives his only Oscar-worthy performance in this movie, he is absolutely terrifying to watch. Paul Dano gives an equally good performance as the pious Eli Sunday.

The Master (2012)
"If you figure out a way to live without serving a master, any master, then let us know, will you? For you'd be the first person in the history of the world."

Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is an alcoholic WWII veteran who is struggling to find purpose after the war. He crosses paths with Lancaster Dodd (Phil Hoffman), the charismatic leader of a philosophical movement known as "The Cause." Freddie soon gets caught up in this movement and sees a great man in Dodd.

The parallels between this movie and the origin of the Church of Scientology are present and in a way too big to ignore, but Anderson is making a much broader statement about the nature of man. The fact that Freddie needs a master like he is some sort of animal shows that man would be aimless without a person in an authority position. When Freddie leaves the embrace of the group, he has no idea what to do with himself.

Although Joaquin Phoenix is the lead actor in the film, Hoffman steals all the scenes he is in. Dodd is an intensely complex character who only wants what is best for his family and his followers, but you can really see that he feeds off the power he gets from being in front of a crowd.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

I've never been much of a fan of the Hunger Games series, or indeed any of the many teenage dystopic films, apart from perhaps The Maze Runner. So walking into the latest instalment, Mockingjay - Part 1 I was a bit hesitant. So, does Part 1 continue in the Battle Royale-esque manner of the first two?

After Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) destroys the arena, Plutarch (Philip Seymour Hoffman) takes her to District 13, an underground embattlement where she meets President Coin (Julianne Moore). Coin persuades Katniss to become their Mockingjay, a symbol of revolution that will boost the uproar against the Capitol. They design a series of propaganda videos to spread the word, but Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) quite rightly suggests that she needs to send her message from the battlefield for it to have influence.

Armed with a film crew, directed by Cressida (Natalie Dormer), Katinss visits a district that has just survived a vicious bombing raid by the Captiol, to see if she can capture both the atrocities of the Capitol, and the spirit of the survivors, in the hope of fanning the flames of revolution. Whilst at the same time, she remains concerned about the state of Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and his existence within the Capitol.

With Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Water for Elephants) reprising directorial control after the success of Catching Fire, the film takes a while to gain momentum, only really finding its stride by the second half. The story of Mockingjay seems much more focused on the political manoeuvres occurring in this Orwellian society and is clearly building up for Part 2, the final instalment in the series. Nevertheless, I was far more absorbed here than I was in the previous two films and for the first real time in the series, I'm actually interested in where it's going. I just wish the first half of this film was as good as the second.

I've never been able to understand how The Hunger Games gets such a vast array of superb actors on-board (Spoiler Alert: It's probably money) and generally they all provide decent if (certainly) not career-peaking performances. Jennifer Lawrence maintains the strong yet troubled nature of Katniss, with both Liam Hemsworth and Hutcherson supporting her well. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman is gentle and sympathetic as Plutarch and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch is still the lovable jackass that he was in the first instalments. Although Julianne Moore is less than stellar, mainly because President Coin is such a bland character, and Natalie Dormer seems to play the same smirking egotist that she does in most her roles, although I suppose it works quite well when playing a director.

Whilst for the first half, Part 1 fails to move away from the stock-standard 1984 dystopia that we've seen many times before, it flourishes more as it moves on, supported by a great cast and a handful of action scenes for good measure.

A Most Wanted Man

Most of John le Carré's novels are fodder for excellent spy movies, this was proven with 2011's Tinker Sailor Soldier Spy. A Most Wanted Man is probably up there with some of the best spy movies and is helped along by a performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman that I will not soon forget.

This film takes a more mechanical approach to the spy game than Tinker Tailor did. There's no guessing or twists about who is a double, but rather focuses on a more straightforward look at modern espionage and the back-room politics that influence it. Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) leads a covert team of anti-terrorism agents in Hamburg. Their main objective is to develop sources within the Islamic community to bring down more dangerous targets. They aim to make a young Chechan, Issa Karpov (Grigory Dobrygin), one of these sources by using his lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams).

The plot isn't too complex and is rather easy to follow along with. Writer Andrew Bovell conveys the tensity of the spy game quite well and has written some of the more minor characters, such as Robin Wright's American Martha Sullivan, with just enough intrigue that they are not forgotten within the overall plot.

Director Anton Corbijn is mainly a music video director and that comes through in a lot of the tight, claustrophobic shots that is used throughout the film. There are also some really beautiful long takes that add to the characters emotions.

It feels weird writing about an actor's final performance. This is the first time I've done this and it's extremely hard given that that actor has always been one of my favourites. Philip Seymour Hoffman's intense portrayal of the beleaguered Bachmann is probably one of the finer performances his given although not his best. At times his German accent slipped, but not so much you'd notice. At times you really feel for his character, who is under intense pressure from his superiors.

 Rachel McAdams really surprised me with this dramatic turn. She seemed believable in this intense film and could keep up quite well with other more experienced actors in this genre. Robin Wright was fantastic as well and was a far cry from her character on House of Cards.

Willem Dafoe is an old hand when it comes to a German accent and plays brilliantly through some of the most intense scenes in the film. I was a little disappointed with the underuse of Daniel Brühl who is a great actor, but relegated to the background of most scenes.

Verdict: A great send off for an amazing actor. Hoffman dominates almost all scenes of the movie, even the ones he's not in. The story is gripping and enjoyable.