“The Hunger Games” review by Chris

It seems again time for another wildly popular book turned moneymaking blockbuster. Suzanne Collins’s story, “The Hunger Games,” is widely loved, which makes it a low risk franchise. If this film has one thing going for it, it’s that Suzanne Collins adapted the story herself. We’ll assume it’s an accurate interpretation of the book. With her screenplay in place, it’s up to the director and actors to bring the script to life.

The story revolves around Katniss Everdeen, a teenage girl living in a dystopian future. To save her sister, she volunteers to battle other teens to the death, but this isn’t just a contest of strength — to survive, she’ll have to traverse dangerous environments and outwit her enemies. The first half of the film is spent in the lavish capital city, training the teens and finding them sponsors to help them survive the oncoming hardships.

Jennifer Lawrence fills the role of the strong and silent Katniss, whose stoicism enhances the less frequent moments of raw emotion, when things finally become too much for Katniss to bear quietly. Alongside her, Josh Hutcherson plays Peeta Mellark. Unlike Katniss, he wears his emotions on his sleeve, which gives the characters a lot to play off each other. Joining them is an all-star cast with many great performances.

Director Gary Ross captures each moment with a PG-13 rating in mind. He gives the audience enough information to establish emotion without making it unsuitable for younger viewers. This helps many scenes achieve a level more graceful than gruesome, but can work against others. The final fight in particular is so zoomed in and shaky that it’s almost impossible to tell what’s happening, and these being the final survival moments of the film, it would have been nice to feel more connected to the action.

There are other minor flaws, but “The Hunger Games” is a stunning, emotionally taxing film with brilliant acting and tense action.

4.5 “Mockingjays” out of 5

Written By Chris
Edited by Aaron

"Jeff, Who Lives at Home" review by Chris

Jeff warns viewers exactly what kind of movie “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” will be from the opening line. The motion picture begins with Jeff (Jason Segel) explaining his love the movie "Signs" — he says it’s a collection of seemingly random events that come together in the end, and that it gets better with each viewing. Jeff attempts to live his life inspired by that theme by searching for signs and connections to his life meaning. His journey often crosses paths with his brother Pat (Ed Helms), who is having troubles with his marriage. Together they attempt to find solutions in their lives.

The titular character is lovable and easy to connect to, despite his oddball nature. He hasn't let his less-than-stellar life keep him from being blindly optimistic, while his brother Pat sees only life’s negatives. The brothers have opposing philosophies that give Jason and Ed countless opportunities for comedy and drama. They mesh beautifully thanks to Segel, Helms and a brilliantly crafted script. Susan Sarandon also gives a notable performance as Sharon, their mother. She kick starts Jeff's journey by forcing him out of the house on an errand.

As stated from the beginning, the final connection is what the entire film is about, so pay attention: every piece of information has some value. The movie's short length keeps the subtle moments from muddling the larger story, which is good since much of the story is predictable. Sharon's story, although enjoyable, is the most predictable and the least related to the main thread.

This is the kind of film that makes you think about life. It reminds us to look for the magic of every moment, not brush it aside. Its story isn't anything new, but great acting and a solid script make it special. The subtle connections warrant a second viewing, but even taken only once, this is a charming journey.

4 "Signs" out of 5

Written by Chris
Edited by Aaron

"John Carter" review by Chris

In 1912 Edger Rice Burroughs released a book called "A Princess of Mars." From it sprouted a series of adventure books taking place on Mars and following the life of John Carter, a Civil War vet from Earth who had been transported to Mars. Edger's stories helped form the science fiction genre and pieces of his stories can still be seen in modern works. Disney has decided that it’s prime time to restore Edger's tales to glory with their new film "John Carter."

During John Carter’s (Taylor Kitsch) hunt for gold, he becomes magically whisked to Mars. He quickly learns its lower gravity grants him superhuman agility and strength, and this draws the attention of the four-armed natives. They help him learn their language and teach him of Barsoom, which is their name for Mars. This begins the first of the film’s small handful of flaws: there’s an absurd amount of terminology to keep track of. Moreover, the film presents each new term like it‘s important, while only about a third of it actually is. Despite this, it's easy to follow the film — just don't expect to remember every name and term your first viewing.

The pacing of the film also suffers from some dated methods. Many points in the film are slow and add nothing to the atmosphere or story. These moments aren't frequent and can be ignored, but the film could have benefited from speedier pacing to help the action. The sci-fi elements also suffer from feeling outdated and overused, even though the John Carter books are actually the progenitors to these kinds of expansive worlds. The elements that have been seen before in other films have their origin in the Barsoom books.

"John Carter" is a grand adventure. Taylor Kitsch captures the everyman, making him an easily liked and relatable character. His history as a soldier, along with the Mars environment makes his fights believable, and a highlight of the film. Despite his super strength, there's still an established fear that he may lose the next battle. The more John learns about Mars, the more it seems he may never get home, and that Mars is destined to fall into an endless war.

The visuals are stunning, and the environments are magically unique without being unrealistic. The flying technology has a simple beauty that captures the eye as the ships soar on light waves. The battles are choreographed brilliantly, and every blow feels powerful but dangerously risky, like the character himself.

"John Carter" is not a perfect film, but its flaws are small, and they shouldn't stop anyone from enjoying it. Suspend your disbelief, and get ready to enjoy a great space adventure that helped to found the genre of science fiction.

4 "Martians" out of Five

Written by Chris
Edited by Aaron