The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) review

In 1934, Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen renamed his toy company LEGO, a name that was derived from the Danish phrase leg godt, meaning ‘play well’. In 1949, two years after they started producing plastic toys instead of wooden ones, LEGO would begin to develop what would end up becoming the company’s most famous product, interlocking bricks. And thus, over the next few decades, LEGO would quickly become one of the most iconic toy brands of all-time, allowing its customers to create all sorts of unique objects out of these plastic bricks. Over 650 billion LEGO pieces have been produced since 1958, and the company has developed a wide variety of themed sets ranging from original franchises like Bionicle and Ninjago to popular IPs such as Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Aside from the toys, LEGO has also expanded into other facets of media, including numerous video games and their own chain of theme parks a la Disney and Universal. It’s a different story, however, when it comes to films. Prior to 2014, almost all official LEGO films were direct-to-video releases, with most of them being based around the company’s now-discontinued Bionicle franchise. But then, in 2011, Warner Bros. announced that they would be making the first theatrically-released LEGO film, which would serve as the first project from the studio’s recently revived animated film division, Warner Animation Group. In the years leading up to its release, however, some were rather skeptical about how the film would turn out. Given the franchise’s worldwide success and appeal, many assumed that it would end up being nothing more than a massive cash grab and one big toy commercial. And then Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were announced as its directors.

Ever since they made their directorial debut in 2009, Lord and Miller have very much made a name for themselves as a duo who have managed to make excellent films out of seemingly disastrous concepts. Their exploits have ranged from directing two hilarious comedies based on a previously obscure 80’s television series to producing/writing what many now consider to be the best Spider-Man film of all-time. And sure enough, when The LEGO Movie hit theaters in February 2014, it was a smash hit with critics and audiences. The film grossed over $469 million worldwide and was widely praised for its gorgeous animation, witty dialogue, and emotionally poignant story that genuinely celebrated LEGO’s devoted fandom. Because of its success, several spin-offs were then announced, with two of them being released in 2017. One was a spin-off about the original film’s breakout star, Will Arnett’s hilarious take on Batman, and the other was an adaptation of LEGO’s popular Ninjago line. But now we return to the LEGO world that started it all with The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. This time, however, Lord and Miller aren’t back to direct, though they are still involved as producers and the film’s primary screenwriters. It was originally reported that the film would serve as the directorial debut of Rob Schrab, who had previously directed episodes of the cult classic series Community. Ultimately, though, Schrab was replaced by veteran filmmaker Mike Mitchell, who’s no stranger to animation having previously directed Shrek Forever After and Trolls for DreamWorks. And even after half a decade and three whole LEGO films, that LEGO charm is still on full display.  

At the end of the original LEGO Movie, the citizens of the town of Bricksburg, led by the seemingly ordinary construction worker Emmet Brickowski (voiced by Chris Pratt), banded together to stop the evil Lord Business (voiced by Will Ferrell) from destroying their world. Unfortunately, the city is then overrun with invaders from the planet Duplo, effectively turning it into a wasteland, Apocalypseburg. And yet, while everyone else in the city has embraced their new apocalyptic lifestyle, Emmet continues to remain upbeat despite his girlfriend Lucy AKA Wyldstyle (voiced by Elizabeth Banks) wishing that he’d mature just like the rest of them. Things only manage to get worse when a new invader arrives in the form of the Duplo army’s leader, General Sweet Mayhem (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz). Sweet Mayhem proceeds to capture Lucy, Batman (voiced by Will Arnett), 1980s astronaut Benny (voiced by Charlie Day), MetalBeard the Pirate (voiced by Nick Offerman), and Princess Unikitty (voiced by Alison Brie) and brings them to her homeworld, the Systar System. There, they meet the galaxy’s ruler, the shape-shifting Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi (voiced by Tiffany Haddish), who seeks to marry one of them (which ends up being Batman) in what Lucy believes is a blatantly evil scheme. Meanwhile, back in Apocalypseburg, Emmet embarks on a journey to the Systar System himself to rescue his friends. Along the way, he ends up meeting the badass Rex Dangervest (also voiced by Chris Pratt), a galaxy-defending archaeologist/cowboy/raptor trainer who agrees to help him out while also showing him what it takes to truly be a hardened warrior.

As is the case with all these recent LEGO films, The LEGO Movie 2 boasts gorgeous animation provided by the Australian animation company Animal Logic. While technically a computer-animated film, the implementation of stop-motion animation aesthetics helps to give the film the same charm that can be found in the numerous LEGO fan films that have been made over the years. Plus, these animators deserve a lot of credit for their impressive attention to detail when creating a world that’s entirely made from LEGOs. This brilliant animation is then matched by the film’s equally terrific screenplay, which perfectly blends its heartfelt narrative with its riotous humor. Thanks to Lord and Miller’s excellent comedic sensibilities, this film arguably surpasses its predecessor when it comes to its sight gags, snappy dialogue, and hilarious cameos. But, of course, just like the first film, there’s also a lot of heart to this story thanks to its wonderful messages and themes. The original LEGO Movie served as a celebration of creative thinking and expanded upon its seemingly traditional ‘hero’s journey’ storyline to show that everyone is special in their own, unique way. The sequel then proceeds to take that even further by highlighting the importance of cooperation and seeing things from a different perspective, which is best exemplified through the expansion of the first film’s biggest plot twist that revealed that everything in the LEGO world was being manipulated by a human kid named Finn (Jadon Sand). Going off the first film’s ending, the sequel brings in Finn’s younger sister Bianca (Brooklynn Prince), which ends up affecting both their world and the LEGO world in interesting ways.

Almost all the major players from the first film’s cast return and are all great once again in their respective roles. It all starts, of course, with Chris Pratt, who continues to make Emmet one of the most endearing main protagonists in recent animation history. Emmet also benefits from having another solid character arc in this one based around the apparent necessity for him to grow up, which he mainly does through his interactions with Rex Dangervest AKA an amalgamation of Star-Lord, Owen Grady, and Faraday from The Magnificent Seven remake. Simply put, it’s a lot of fun to witness Chris Pratt playing these two roles that respectively represent his comedic roots and the charismatic leading man status that he holds today. Elizabeth Banks also gets a lot of great material to work with as well as Lucy/Wyldstyle, with the film continuing to follow the overall arc of cutting through her tough exterior (which, without spoiling anything, leads to a subtle yet very satisfying payoff at the end). And, of course, Will Arnett continues to be hilarious as LEGO Batman, even if he already had his big character arc in The LEGO Batman Movie. After that, there are the usual supporting players; Nick Offerman as MetalBeard, Alison Brie as Unikitty, Charlie Day as Benny (“SPACESHIP!!”), etc. They’re then joined by the big newcomers to this film, Tiffany Haddish as Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi and Stephanie Beatriz as General Sweet Mayhem. Haddish continues to prove why her star’s been on the rise these past few years and the film takes full advantage of her character’s shape-shifting abilities. And while Beatriz doesn’t necessarily get as much to work with as her co-stars, she works off Elizabeth Banks incredibly well in the scenes between Lucy and Mayhem.

So, can we just all agree that the LEGO Movie franchise is one of the best around? Thanks to the continued involvement of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (even when they’re not directing), this series has delivered time and time again with films that boast gorgeous animation, fun characters, and excellent emotional poignancy. As such, I’m genuinely surprised that some are saying that The LEGO Movie 2 isn’t as good as the first film (it’s that damn ‘not as fresh’ argument that long-time readers know I’m not a big fan of). On the contrary, I’d say that it’s just as good as its predecessor. Is it the better of the two? Well, that one’s legitimately up for debate, but I’d argue that this one tops the original when it comes to its humor. Whatever the case may be, though, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is an absolute must-see. Even though it’s been years since I was in the big LEGO craze that defined my childhood (still waiting for that LEGO Bionicle film…), I’m still very much drawn to these films because they continue to do a wonderful job paying tribute to their fandom by matching their creativity with the LEGO brand. After all, one of the main lyrics to the original film’s classic tune ‘Everything is Awesome’ states that ‘everything is better when we stick together’. And sure enough, this film directly addresses the importance of unity while also providing some timely commentary on the dangers of toxic masculinity. In short, it’s yet another carefully constructed masterpiece (pun intended).

Rating: 5/5!

Power Rangers (2017) review

While I was only around for half of the decade, I do consider myself to be a ‘90’s kid’. And with that said, many ‘90’s kids’ will agree that one of the definitive shows of their childhoods was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Developed by TV theme song composers Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, the series, which utilized stock footage from Toei’s Super Sentai franchise and repurposed it around an American cast, became a worldwide phenomenon when it debuted in 1993. Nearly 25 years later, the series is still going strong today with new themed iterations debuting every year, and while nowadays some feel that the original series has not aged well because of its cheesy nature, it’s still very much a landmark show of its era. I’ll admit, though, that I wasn’t really a Power Rangers fan growing up, mainly just because the original Mighty Morphin series was already over before I was even a year old. However, because it’s so directly tied to my generation, I was at least interested in seeing the new film reboot of this legendary franchise. And thus, here we are with Power Rangers, the third Power Rangers film released to date after 1995’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and 1997’s Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. As stated earlier, it serves as a reboot of the original Mighty Morphin series, with a new cast taking on the roles of the original Ranger team. It’s also easily the biggest Power Rangers film to date in terms of its budget and scale. But, of course, this now leads to one big question; will this succeed in appealing to fans of the franchise while also serving as an effective introduction for the uninitiated? Well, for the most part, director Dean Israelite (Project Almanac) does succeed in redefining this franchise for a new generation.  

In the town of Angel Grove, suspended high school quarterback Jason Lee Scott (Dacre Montgomery), autistic nerd Billy Cranston (RJ Cyler), and ousted cheerleader Kimberly Hart (Naomi Scott) begin to bond while being forced to spend time in detention for various incidents that they were involved in at school. One night, the three end up at the local mines where they, along with truant Zack Taylor (Ludi Lin) and new student Trini Kwan (Becky G), come across five mysterious coin-like artifacts trapped within the rocks. After taking them, the five begin to find themselves imbued with new powers, namely superhuman strength. When they return to where they found the coins, they end up in an ancient spaceship buried deep underground. There, they come across Zordon (Bryan Cranston), an ancient being whose consciousness was uploaded into the ship’s matrix by his android assistant Alpha 5 (Bill Hader). Zordon tells them that they have been chosen by the Power Coins that they’ve found to become the Power Rangers, a group of warriors who protect the Earth from those who seek the Zeo Crystal, the source of their power. And, sure enough, one of those threats, former Green Ranger Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks), awakens from her long slumber and plans on rebuilding her monster, Goldar, to find the Zeo Crystal, which Zordon (the former Red Ranger) had buried deep underground millions of years ago when she betrayed their team. With little time to spare before she unleashes her army of monsters upon Angel Grove, the five teens find themselves tasked with trying to band together to become the Rangers and use all their abilities to save their home and their world.  

Overall, this new Power Rangers film does away with many of the campier elements of the original series. Now, for the record, there are still some silly moments here and there (e.g. brace yourself for one ludicrous bit of product placement that literally ends up becoming a major part of the plot) but, overall, the plot is taken more seriously than previous iterations of the franchise. And while this may result in some tonal inconsistencies here and there, like whenever Rita attacks someone in a rather intense manner, the film still manages to capture the feel of the franchise without going completely campy. Plus, with the addition of various nods to the series for eagle-eyed fans to point out, some of which I’m sure I didn’t notice the first time being only a casual fan of the franchise, I think longtime fans will enjoy this new film quite fine. Based on what I’ve seen from the original series, it doesn’t seem like it pulls any major deviations from the source material, aside from new characterizations for the protagonists, that would betray what made the franchise popular in the first place. The big question, though, is how it appeals to newcomers of the franchise. It does so by way of an ‘origin story’. And, yes, I know that this phrase has sort of become a ‘bad word’ amongst filmgoers but here, it is done quite well because it’s about the five teens learning to become the Rangers instead of just being instantly able to do so like in the show. Thus, it ends up sharing a similar aspect with 1997’s Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie in that the teens don’t fully morph into the Rangers until the finale. But in this case, it does work because of their journey beforehand to become the Rangers, instead of just sidelining them in their own film like Turbo did. And once they do get into the suits, the action, which, obviously, is primarily CG-based this time around with an undeniably Transformers vibe to it, is solid.  

As fans of the show know, one of its trademark lines was ‘Teenagers with Attitude’, a phrase uttered by Zordon in the opening credits (though not the show itself) to describe the team. However, in the show, the Rangers were always portrayed as good students and, thus, more like role models and not really ‘teenagers with attitude’. Here, though, they very much emphasize the ‘attitude’ part, showcasing a group of misfits who must come together to become the heroes they’re meant to be. And, like I said before, while the show had them capable of morphing into the Rangers right out the gate, I do like how, in this film, they must work to get to that level. Also, to the filmmakers’ credit, they did pick an excellent group of leads to take on these iconic roles. Granted, some get more attention than others (namely Jason, Kimberly, and Billy, who are the first to be introduced in the film; Zack and Trini don’t come in until they get the Power Coins) but they do have fantastic chemistry with each other. Not bad for a group that’s mostly made up of general newcomers; just goes to show that perhaps Dean Israelite’s greatest strength as a director is working with younger actors/actresses. As for their supporting cast, Bryan Cranston (who notably provided villain voices for the original series and was even the inspiration for the Blue Ranger’s name, Billy Cranston) brings the proper dignified nature to the role of Zordon while Bill Hader provides some enjoyable comic relief in the role of Alpha 5 (“Ai yi yi!”). Finally, there’s Elizabeth Banks as main villain Rita Repulsa; she’s quite over-the-top here, keeping very much in line with the Rita of the original series. It’ll either work for you or it won’t. Personally, it didn’t bother me but maybe that’s because she’s not really in the film that much, as the focus is primarily on the Rangers, which is a good thing.

So, as I stated before, I didn’t grow up with Power Rangers. I did watch some episodes of the show before watching this film (as well as the previous films) and, like I said last time, I probably would’ve loved the show had I watched it as a kid. But, overall, going into this I was a newcomer to the franchise that had gradually become a casual fan once I finally watched some episodes of it. And overall, as a ‘casual fan’ of Power Rangers, I rather enjoyed this new film. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that it’s groundbreaking or anything but as a new iteration of a popular franchise, it manages to appeal to both longtime fans and those like me who come into it generally new to the series. In the case of the former, it does this through solid but respectful homages to the franchise while the latter will find a surprisingly engrossing origin story with solid characters portrayed by an excellent group of leads. Now, with that said, admittedly if you weren’t already big on the series to begin with, you probably won’t get much out of this. Despite the change in tone, it’s still the same generally silly premise of teens fighting aliens in giant robots. But, if you are a fan of the show, it is a nice new addition to the franchise. It’s basically the original Mighty Morphin series but with the budget and scale that it just didn’t have back when it was on. Thus, I think longtime fans will enjoy this just fine; I can tell that just from my own theater experience. When the Power Rangers theme came on, there was applause. Thus, I think it’s safe to say that Power Rangers will be a definite crowd-pleaser for fans young and old.

Rating: 4/5

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) review

While most film franchises based off of ‘Young Adult’ book series have had mixed results in terms of financial and critical success, with some not even making it past one film, ‘The Hunger Games’ series, based off of the books of the same name by Suzanne Collins, has easily been the most successful of these franchises since it started three years ago. With its strong story and characters, the series is very much deserving of its status of being a ‘global phenomenon’ just like ‘Harry Potter’ was in the decade before the release of the first ‘Hunger Games’ film in 2012. Though for most people, the series really established itself as a premier franchise with its second installment, ‘Catching Fire’. For the record, the first film was very much a critical and commercial success when it was released in March 2012 but it did attract some polarizing responses from audiences, mostly due to the film’s ‘shaky cam’ style and rapid editing during the action sequences. But as for ‘Catching Fire’, the first in the series to be directed by Francis Lawrence (no relation to series star Jennifer Lawrence), it’s pretty much universally regarded as the better film, which is rather ironic considering that the book it was based off of was arguably the least popular entry of the series. The success of ‘Catching Fire’ resulted in Lawrence being brought back to direct the final installment of the series, ‘Mockingjay’. But then things got a bit controversial when it was announced that ‘Mockingjay’ would be split into two films.

Of course the practice of splitting the final installment of a series into two films was kick-started by the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise when it split its final book, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, into two films. But ultimately the reason why that was actually a good thing was because the book did have enough material to justify two films. Other franchises then followed suit but it was clear that these series’ final installments weren’t big enough to be split into two films. That was very much true with the ‘Twilight’ series with ‘Breaking Dawn’ and without them even being released yet, the same will clearly be said for the ‘Divergent’ series with ‘Allegiant’ and its second part, ‘Ascendant’. As for ‘The Hunger Games’, the same general argument came up; that ‘Mockingjay’ simply didn’t have enough in it for two films. I on the other hand was a bit more optimistic after coming across an article that stated that the main reason why this decision was made was so that the filmmakers could expand upon the plot in ways that Collins couldn’t when she wrote the book due to the limitation of having to cram it all into just one book. Ultimately though, the skepticism towards this decision still stood and that was made even more evident by the less positive reaction towards last year’s ‘Mockingjay Part 1’, though I felt that it was still really good even if it was more about the series’ politics than the action. Now we finally come to the last installment of the ‘Hunger Games’ film series, ‘Mockingjay Part 2’, and… I finally see why this should’ve just been one film. For the record, I still really liked this film like I did the previous three but ultimately I feel that this is the weakest of the series as the complications of ‘Mockingjay’ being split into two films finally start to take effect.

‘Part 1’ of ‘Mockingjay’ saw Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), survivor of the 74^th and 75^th ‘Hunger Games’, slowly but surely becoming the ‘Mockingjay’, the face of the growing rebellion of the citizens of Panem against the Capitol and their dictatorial leader, President Snow (Donald Sutherland). During this time, Katniss’ main love interest Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), who had been captured by the Capitol during the events of ‘Catching Fire’ and turned into a ‘puppet’ for Snow, had been rescued but was revealed to have been brainwashed by Snow in order to kill Katniss. As Part 2 begins, the rebels truly begin their attack on the Capitol but after they destroy the Capitol’s primary weapons supply in District 2, Katniss’ request to go after Snow is declined by rebel leader President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), who tells her that she will instead be maintained as the symbol of the revolution. Going against Coin’s orders, Katniss sneaks into District 2 where she is assigned into ‘Star Squad 451’, along with her best friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) and, later on, Peeta, despite the fact that his ‘brainwashing’ is still partially in effect, therefore making him a liability for the squad. Despite this, Katniss ventures forward to the Capitol in order to finally kill President Snow and bring his tyrannical rule to an end. But after a while, she and her closest friends and allies soon begin to truly be affected by the horrors that have come from this war between the Rebels and the Capitol.

Whereas ‘Mockingjay Part I’ was more about the political side to the growing rebellion and the propaganda that both the Rebels and the Capitol were spreading in order to sway people to their sides, ‘Mockingjay Part 2’ is very much focused on the action. And with that in mind, the action sequences are pretty darn good. The film is definitely well-directed just like the previous two films, proving that the addition of Francis Lawrence as director was arguably the best thing that could’ve ever happened to this franchise. However, while the film is very much well-directed, the plot sort of suffers a bit compared to previous films. To put it bluntly, the film’s emotional beats don’t really hit on the level that the film was trying to achieve. This is primarily the result of two things; A.) The aforementioned ‘action-oriented’ pacing and B.) The fact that the film is primarily focused around Katniss. Katniss is very much the main character of the film and is in nearly every scene in the film. But because she’s focused on so much, there are times where she actually overshadows some of the other characters. Certain characters like Johanna and Haymitch are only in the film for brief amounts of time and this gets even more problematic when other characters end up biting the dust. Don’t worry I won’t reveal who dies for those who haven’t read the book but with that said, I feel that the major deaths in this film didn’t really get the attention that they should’ve gotten, particularly a very important death that should be very personal to Katniss and yet really only gets one major scene in which she is shown to be heavily affected by it.

The best thing that comes from the film’s overt focus on Katniss is that, because she truly is the main star of the film, this is very much Jennifer Lawrence’s film. She’s always been terrific in the role, even though the character sort of lost her edge in the first ‘Mockingjay’ film due to her being so concerned about making sure Peeta was rescued from the Capitol. Thankfully that isn’t as much an issue this time, however, and this can literally be described as a case where Jennifer Lawrence is both figuratively and literally carrying the film, and pretty much the entire franchise, on her back. The only other member of the cast who gets screen-time that’s anywhere close to Lawrence’s is Josh Hutcherson as Peeta. Hutcherson has definitely grown the most out of anyone in this cast to the point where I’d argued that he was actually the standout of ‘Mockingjay Part I’. Hutcherson is equally terrific here as Peeta might actually have more to work with than Lawrence given the fact that the character continually runs the risk of jeopardizing the whole mission due to his brainwashing by one of cinema’s best villains in recent years. Yes Donald Sutherland has been particularly great in these films as the truly despicable SOB Snow, who somehow always manages to maintain his cool no matter what the situation is. Of course the rest of the cast is great as well, as they’ve been throughout the entire series, but as I noted earlier, quite a few of these characters are generally downplayed in favor of Katniss.

Despite what I’ve said in this review, I want to make it clear that I do not ‘hate’ this film. I still really like it for a lot of the things that made the previous films great. Francis Lawrence’s direction is once again excellent, the film has some really well-done action sequences, and the film’s cast is outstanding, particularly Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Donald Sutherland. But at the same time, this actually ends up being my least favorite of the four films and ultimately this is because I now realize that this really should’ve just been one film. And I’m not saying that because the first film was more focused on the politics and this film was more action-oriented. The real reason why I think this should’ve been one film is because due to this film’s action-heavy pacing, most of the set-up for this film was a result of the first film, meaning that there’s not as much character development in this one. And because the film is focused more on Katniss than anyone else, certain character deaths don’t get as much focus as they should’ve gotten. In other words, if this was just one film, then maybe the characters that do die would’ve gotten more screen-time and therefore their deaths would’ve been more impactful. Again, I do still like the film and very much feel that ‘The Hunger Games’ is easily the best franchise of its ‘genre’ after ‘Harry Potter’, even though I don’t like referring to the latter as being part of the ‘Young Adult’ genre. But ultimately ‘Mockingjay Part 2’, while it does do its job at being the finale to this franchise, doesn’t really deliver on the epic finality that it was trying to achieve.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) review

When the Young Adult Book to Film Genre needed a new frontrunner to lead the pack after the ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Twilight’ franchises came to a close, ‘The Hunger Games’ stepped in and has been both a commercial and critical success, thanks of course to great writing, great directing, and great acting from all involved. While I do understand the problems that some people have with the first film in regards to the cinematography and editing during the actual Hunger Games, I still stand by that film as being a well-made adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novels. But like many people, I do agree that ‘Catching Fire’ was a superior film, expanding on the whole universe of Panem and moving away from those aforementioned ‘issues’ from the first film. So now ‘Catching Fire’ director Francis Lawrence (no relation to star Jennifer Lawrence) is back to direct the final film in the series, ‘Mockingjay’… except it isn’t the final film… not yet. Instead, Lionsgate decided to go the route that Warner Bros. did with ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ and split the final book of the ‘Hunger Games’ series into two separate films. This has certainly attracted a lot of controversy considering that the length of the book doesn’t really justify the need for two films. However, I do feel that ‘Mockingjay Part 1’, even though it is technically the ‘set-up’ for ‘Part 2’ next year, is just as good as the two films that came before it.

At the end of ‘Catching Fire’, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), winner of the 74^th Hunger Games and participant in the following year’s event AKA the ‘Quarter Quell’, escaped from the Hunger Games arena after she destroyed it and was brought to District 13, the district of Panem that was thought to have been destroyed 75 years ago during the original rebellion amongst its districts against the Capitol. However, at the same time, Katniss’ fellow Hunger Games champion and love interest Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) ended up getting taken by the Capitol and their home, District 12, was destroyed. Now in District 13 under the leadership of President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), Katniss finds herself pressured into being the ‘face’ of the districts’ rebellion: the ‘Mockingjay’. She is at first hesitant to do so but finds new purpose when she learns that Peeta is still alive, albeit now under the control of President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the Capitol. This inspires Katniss to spread her wings and become the Mockingjay as she now finds herself at the frontlines (in both a figurative and somewhat literal sense) along with her allies, including her best friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), and her mentors Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) and Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) as she looks to save Peeta before he ends up getting killed by the Capitol.

‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1’ is a very different beast compared to its predecessors. This time, there aren’t any ‘Hunger Games’ and instead it’s more about the political side of the rebellion and how each side is trying to use propaganda to sway public opinion. And while this film technically is more focused on that than the action, it still results in a very compelling film. But of course, the big question still remains; was the decision to split this final book into two films a good idea? Well, so far that has attracted quite a mixed reaction from a lot of people but personally I felt that it did actually work from a story perspective. I’ve noted before that the reason behind this was so that the filmmakers could expand on the book whereas Collins was forced to condense a lot of stuff to meet publisher demands and because of this, it does actually feel justified. Never at any time during the course of this film did I feel that it felt ‘padded’ to stretch things out for two movies. This movie does have a proper beginning and end with a clear objective; rescue Peeta from the Capitol. Because of this, I was never bored and the film did on a pretty neat but also very tense cliffhanger to lead into ‘Part 2’, where I’m guessing most of the action from the book will occur.

Once again this film, like its immediate predecessor, benefits from great direction from Francis Lawrence, who handles the transition to a more politically driven storyline (compared to the last two films) quite well and does a great job at showcasing the large scale of this rebellion. And that’s backed up by the great cast, headlined once again by Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. In the last two films, Katniss was a character who was basically dragged into these events, sort of against her own will but now she’s much more proactive this time as we truly see her become the face of the revolution. Josh Hutcherson also stands out here as well as the transformation that Peeta goes through in this movie is truly fascinating. One of the advantages that the films have over the books is that because it isn’t in the same first-person narrative from Katniss’ perspective, this allows for the other characters to stand out more than they did in the books, resulting in members of the cast like Liam Hemsworth and Elizabeth Banks (the latter of whom brings such much-needed levity to this rather bleak setting as Effie) getting more to do and with equally great turns from other members of the cast including Jeffrey Wright as tech wiz Beetee, newcomer Julianne Moore as President Coin, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman as rebel leader Plutarch Heavensbee, the whole cast is superb from top to bottom. But something that I forgot to mention the last time is that not only are the protagonists great but also the villain as well. Donald Sutherland has been great in these movies as President Snow. They REALLY make you hate this guy; cold, evil, and emotionless but yet he still manages to be calm and collected during all of this.

Now I’m not saying that I’m 100% supportive of the decision to split ‘Mockingjay’ into two films and ‘Part 1’ will never escape the fact that it’s basically a ‘set up’ for the finale in ‘Part 2’. But you know what? The same can be said for ‘Deathly Hallows Part 1’, and this is very much the Hunger Games’ version of that movie as both films are very similar in regards to their structure and execution. Yes, there’s not really that much action in this compared to the first two films… but hey, so was ‘Deathly Hallows Part 1’. In other words, this film still manages to be incredibly compelling thanks of course to the great direction from Francis Lawrence, the great writing that gives us great characters, and of course the great cast portraying these characters. I went into this unsure about the whole ‘2-parter’ thing but ultimately I came out pretty satisfied as I felt that the film did end on a solid note with an incredibly suspense cliffhanger. Now of course I say this knowing that this is only ‘Part 1’ of the story. We still got one more film to go in this series but you know that I will be there November 2015 to see this great series officially come to an end with ‘Mockingjay Part 2’ and I’ll also be keen to see if that film can also feel as ‘complete’ as a film like ‘Part 1’ was… as the first half of a two-part story of course.

Rating: 5/5!

The LEGO Movie (2014) review

(As you can tell, this review was a little late but, sadly, there is a big reason for why it took me a while to write this. My dad was injured in an accident a couple days ago and, at the time I am writing this, he has just passed away as a result of his injury. As such, I dedicate this review in memory of him because I know that he knew how big of a LEGO fan I am. Love you Dad!)

Sometimes, there is a movie that, in one way or another, will directly appeal to your childhood. For me, ‘The LEGO Movie’ is one of those movies. When I was growing up, LEGOs were probably my favorite things in the entire world and while I’m not as big of a LEGO fan now as I was when I was a kid, I still have a general passing interest in the brand. As such, this was the first major movie of 2014 that I was anticipating because I was really excited to see an actual ‘LEGO Movie’ on the big screen (this being the first official theatrical LEGO movie). However, at first glance, one might view this as a cynical marketing gimmick done by Hollywood with the main purpose of selling LEGO products which would make sense considering that these are construction toys we’re talking about here. But then you take into account the two men directing this film, Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Their previous two films, 2009’s ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and 2012’s ‘21 Jump Street’, were some of the best films of their respective years and in the end, ‘The LEGO Movie’ will most likely end up being one of the best films of 2014 for a few good reasons. It’s certainly the first great film of 2014, that’s for sure.

Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) is just your average guy (or ‘minifigure’ if you want to be precise) who lives a very ordinary life as a construction worker in his hometown of Brickville. However, things begin to change when he comes across an object known as the ‘Piece of Resistance’, which is the only thing that can stop a powerful weapon known as ‘the Kragle’ (in reality, a tube of ‘Krazy Glue’). Emmet soon finds himself at the center of a prophecy where he is believed to be ‘The Special’, the only one who is capable of stopping the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell), who plans to use the Kragle to take over the world by freezing it in place and bringing an end to the idea of ‘creativity’. Emmet joins forces with the ‘Master Builders’, people who are capable of building anything without the need of ‘instructions’, unlike people like Emmet. With the help of allies like freedom fighter Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), wise old wizard Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman), and even the ‘Caped Crusader’ himself, Batman (Will Arnett), Emmet sets off on his journey to save the LEGO universe as he tries to prove to everyone (including himself) that he truly is ‘The Special’.

At first, this story may seem like your traditional ‘unexpected hero’ story and that would seem like that’s the case here… or is it? I say that because, without giving anything away, this film pulls one heck of a plot twist near the end that I guarantee a lot of you will not see coming (on that note, I applaud Warner Bros and everyone involved on the project for not giving this key part of the movie away in the marketing). Not only that, but this twist is a really good one as well as it does a fine job of representing the legacy and popularity of the LEGO brand through the eyes of its fan base. The story itself speaks to both the LEGO builders who always follow the instructions (I’m not afraid to admit that I’m one of them) as well as those who like to go ‘outside the box’ and by doing so, this movie will appeal directly to both groups of fans. As directors, Lord and Miller certainly fall into the latter group as proven by some of the creative decisions that they have made in their films, which is once again evident because of this film’s unexpected turn of events.

Also, the animation in this film is fantastic. From what I hear, this film was a mix of computer animation and stop-motion animation. With that in mind, I now want to know what parts of this movie were actually done in stop-motion. I mean, sure, the majority of the film clearly must be computer animated but part of the reason why it’s so good is because, in execution, it really feels like stop-motion animation. It’s quite amazing to see how everything in this movie, even special effects like fire and water, is made to look like they were really made out of LEGOs. Of course, like with a lot of great animated films, this one also boasts an excellent voice cast. Everyone is well cast in their respective roles and this film has a great cast of characters, including the no-nonsense Bad Cop who has a split personality where he’s also sometimes a Good Cop (Liam Neeson in a rare comedic turn) as well as a great comedic interpretation of Batman as done by Will Arnett. Also, be sure to be on the lookout for some pretty cool cameos along the way.

My friend Augie made a good point recently about how Phil Lord and Chris Miller have been very successful at taking projects that wouldn’t seem to be good ideas at first and turn them into something that ends up being far better than what we initially expected. I mean, I’m pretty sure that none of us were thinking that ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and ‘21 Jump Street’ would turn out to be as good as they were, but they were. The same can definitely be said for ‘The LEGO Movie’. On the surface it does look like a ‘marketing gimmick’ to sell products and in the end there’s part of it that no doubt feels like a feature-length LEGO commercial (it was unavoidable). But then this film pulls one of the best twists in recent memory and as a result, it turns out to be a very well-made animated film. It has excellent animation, a terrific voice cast, and a story that may seem simple at first glance but in the end it turns out to be one that has a lot of heart. This film does a great job at representing the LEGO brand and its dedicated fans. For LEGO fanatics, this is an absolute must-see but even if you aren’t, this is still one that I highly recommend because it truly is one of the best animated films in recent years.

Rating: 5/5!