"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2"

[For write-up and pictures from "The Hunger Games" stars' appearances at Comic-Con and the Conan O'Brien late night show, click here]

The end of the journey.  It sounds so final, yet here we are and it's bittersweet.  When "The Hunger Games" premiered in 2012, with a seemingly simplistic premise, I did not anticipate how deep and absorbing a sci-fi YA adaptation could be.  And how it could maintain its momentum installment after installment.

By now we all know that teenagers forced to fight one another in a life-or-death game hosted by a rich totalitarian government as entertainment only scratches the surface.  The Hunger Games is not a game.  What starts off as a personal story of survival for Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle," "X-Men: First Class") turns her into a symbol of defiance against the cruel system, and a beacon of hope for her impoverished and oppressed people to rise up.

And rise up they did.  The political propaganda machine from 'Mockingjay Part 1" continues from President Coin (Julianne Moore), the dissident leader, who expects Katniss to continue to pose for the cameras and give rousing speeches to rally the rebels.  She's too valuable of an asset to be in the frontline and needs to be seen alive and talking.  Katniss, of course, wants to be on the ground with the troops, to march to the Capitol to kill President Snow (Donald Sutherland, "The Mechanic") herself and end the regime.

On Katniss' side are Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). Complicated feelings run deep with both men for different reasons, although wisely never overshadow the main story.  Katniss' purpose in life is never defined by her love interests.

A crack in her lifelong friendship with Gale appears when they come to a head over warfare philosophy and strategy, involving the lives of civilians as a way to win the war.  Peeta is clearly not himself, still suffering from the brainwashing effects by President Snow, leading to emotional confrontations with Katniss.

Katniss eventually sneaks out from President Coin's underground bunker and makes the trek towards Capitol and President Snow's estate, accompanied by several key players.  A treacherous trek, war-torn streets marked by hidden traps, yielding machine gun shots, deadly explosives and lethal liquid, not to mention Capitol's armed peacekeepers and Mutts, ferocious underground creatures.  Lives are lost (a few in gruesome ways), including one so close to Katniss' heart.  The latter is a very quick scene that barely registers, but its impact comes out later and is distressingly felt, emotionally performed by Lawrence.

The solo "Kill Snow" plan doesn't go as planned.  Bloods spill among Capitol civilians, peacekeepers and rebels as Katniss gets closer to the estate.  There's a force working behind the scene unbeknownst to Katniss.  And casualties happen; it's the harsh reality of war.

In the end, Katniss takes a decisive stance to end a vicious cycle of conflict and violence, and ensure that people have the freedom and choice to secure their own future.

One person who is not surprised by Katniss' independent act is Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Ides of March"), the former gamemaker, conveying his hope that Katniss will find peace, something that has eluded her damaged state for so long, when justice is served.

There are times where the movie slogs along, and it feels that 'Mockingjay Part 1' and 'Mockingjay Part 2" could have been combined into a three-hour plus movie without losing much development.

The ending is mildly sweet, as a sunlit scene of a new family closes the saga for good. 'Mockingjay Part 2' is not as staggeringly scorching as the previous installments, but it is a solid, solemn conclusion to a brutal journey of an ordinary girl, a reluctant heroine who inspires and unites a nation in a dystopian time.

http://www.sdentertainer.com/movies/movie-review-the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2/

DVD: http://tinyurl.com/mockingjay2dvd
Book: http://tinyurl.com/hungergamesnovel

Upcoming Movies: February 2016

[Originally posted on 1/30/16]

February 5
"Hail, Caesar!" (http://www.hailcaesarmovie.com/) - A Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio's stars in line.

"The Choice" (http://www.thechoice.movie/) - Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.

February 12
"Deadpool" (http://deadpool.com/) - A former Special Forces operative turned mercenary is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers and adopts the alter ego Deadpool.

"How to be Single" (http://howtobesinglemovie.com/) - New York City is full of lonely hearts seeking the right match, and what Alice, Robin, Lucy, Meg, Tom and David all have in common is the need to learn how to be single in a world filled with ever-evolving definitions of love.

February 19
"Race" (http://www.focusfeatures.com/race) - Jesse Owens' quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy.

"Shut In" - A heart-pounding thriller about a widowed child psychologist who lives in an isolated existence in rural New England. Caught in a deadly winter storm, she must find a way to rescue a young boy before he disappears forever.

February 26
"Kidnap" - A mother stops at nothing to recover her kidnapped son.

"Steve Jobs"

I wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing "Steve Jobs."  Notwithstanding that I wanted to catch a noteworthy film before it disappeared from local theaters, there was a sense of deja-vu, considering that "Jobs," just premiered a mere two years ago.  It was mediocre, but it had some high notes and I enjoyed it.

But having heard critical acclaims of "Steve Jobs" and personally admired Aaron Sorkin's screenplay on "The Social Network," I would make it to the theater sooner or later.  So glad I did.

"Musicians play the instruments.  I play the orchestra," said Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender, "X-Men" series, "Prometheus") in response to a pointed question why he gets all the glory since he's not an engineer or designer, and that he takes all the credit for the brilliant and tireless work from the people who devote themselves to him.

Not an ordinary biopic, the Danny Boyle-directed "Steve Jobs" is uniquely structured like a play, a three-act play before three key product launches; Macintosh (1984), NeXT (1988) and iMac (1998).

Each act provides a fascinating insight into the iconic man behind the black turtleneck.  In the eyes of the world, we know who Steve Jobs is, Apple co-founder.  One-of-a-kind visionary.  Driven problem-solver.  Supremely creative thinker.  Marvelous marketer.  He's a legendary innovator with a keen eye for intuitive design and miniscule details, who showed people things they never imagined or knew they needed or wanted.

Behind the scene and within his inner circle, Steve Jobs is a mercurial figure.  Self-aggrandizing, antagonizing, calculating and condescending control freak.  It is an ironic realization to see how a man with an innate ability to visualize and understand how people think and want are not able to connect with the people closest to him.  A paradox, Steve Jobs is out-of-the-box thinker, yet out-of-touch with human connection.

The backstage drama is a cacophony filled with farcical facades about product features, room preparations, and intense confrontations about relationships where each act ends with a phenomenal, cult-like mania when the man of the hour seizes the stage.

It could feel a little repetitive, but the rapid-fire dialogue, razor-sharp script, deft direction and fast-paced editing will keep you fixated onto the screen.  The stakes are elevated and emotions are running at a fever pitch.

Certain scenes are crisscrossed between present happenings and flashbacks, paralleling the heightened situations. The cinematography is distinguished; each act shot differently, ranging from painterly in the initial act to pristine in the final one, with attention to lighting, composition and reflection.

The key players power the movie with electrifying performances through those intense confrontations.  His former girlfriend and mother of his child, a woman who refuses to be silenced, Chrisann Brennan (Katherine Waterson); his daughter, Lisa (played at different ages by Perla Haney-Jardine, Ripley Sobo, Makenzie Moss) humanizing him, someone whom he denied paternity for years; Andy Hertzfeld (Michael Stuhlbarg, "Pawn Sacrifice"), a degraded key member of his early development team; John Sculley (Jeff Daniels), CEO of Apple, an experienced business executive lured from Pepsi, which turns into a father figure in some respect; Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogen, "Paul"), Apple co-founder and lifelong frenemy; and perhaps most prominently, Joanna Hoffman (Kate Winslet, "The Divergent " series ), the head of marketing and long-suffering confidant and right-hand woman who stands by and stands up to Steve Jobs when the moments count.

Last but not the least, the man at the center of it all, Fassbender.  While he doesn't bear the physical resemblance to the real Steve Jobs (except toward the end), he captures the core of the controversial figure with bravura.

"Steve Jobs" is masterfully orchestrated like a spectacular theatrical play in a grand opera house, complete with orchestral music.  An amazing showmanship, it's one of the best films of the year.

http://www.sdentertainer.com/movies/movie-review-steve-jobs/

DVD: http://tinyurl.com/stevejobsdvd