The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by Panemlights

I am so looking forward to Katniss

[Show spoiler]killing Coin. Imagine the amount of SHOCK in the theater for those who haven't read the book.

I imagine audiences across the country giving the movie a standing ovation.

[Jennifer Lawrence Fan]

oooooooooh, I'm so tempted to look at that spoiler. But I will refrain from it.

[VagueSimplicity]

Originally Posted by Edword

Look out Divergent and The Maze Runner

"I have a message for YA adaptations... two-parter films are catching, and if we bomb, YOU BOMB WITH US!"

-The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by VagueSimplicity

"I have a message for young adult adaptations... two-parter films are catching, and if we bomb, YOU BOMB WITH US!"

-The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

This is going to have the Number 1 Opening Weekend of 2014 and will be Number 1 Domestic.

[VagueSimplicity]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

This is going to have the Number 1 Opening Weekend of 2014 and will be Number 1 Domestic.

Haha, I know, but everyone is worried since it'll be the lowest opening weekend of the franchise (less than $150 mil) and might end up with less than $400 mil domestic gross, which is the version of a bomb for this franchise. Lol.

And I couldn't think of a better word to use in place of "burn."

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by VagueSimplicity

And I couldn't think of a better word to use in place of "burn."

Earlier today, I was joking with someone that "If we burn, you burn with us!" sounds like something from an STD-prevention commercial.

[Visco.]

This movie was a huge letdown in the fact that Catching Fire might have been the most beautifully shot YA film ever made but I still find this film was solid enough to gain barely above average approval for me.

The cinematography might not be as good, but the movie does improve on the amount of stellar performances it brings. PSH is incredible in this one and most of the actors improve on their characters from the last film.

I wish I could say the same about Hutcherson and Lawrence although Lawrence is just a little less deserving of the recognition she received in Catching Fire.

Francis Lawrence did the best he could to bring us a fairly paced action movie that's complete purpose is to setup a much bigger finale.

3/5

[Kevin Holly]

I'm hoping that Snow wins in the end.

[VagueSimplicity]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

Earlier today, I was joking with someone that "If we burn, you burn with us!" sounds like something from an STD-prevention commercial.

In that case you could replace "Fire is catching" with "Gonorrhea is spreading"

---

Originally Posted by Visco.

This movie was a huge letdown in the fact that Catching Fire might have been the most beautifully shot YA film ever made but I still find this film was solid enough to gain barely above average approval for me.

The cinematography might not be as good...

Yeah, but the film has its highlights when it comes to the cinematography. For instance any scene with water in it:

[Show spoiler]the public executions, water leaking into the stairwell with Katniss's head in a 'raised to the heavens' heroic pose while her face, bathed in blueish-green light, has a look of despair, the lake scene, and the water dam scene.

or the return to District 12.

Oh, and I just remembered, but I couldn't help but laugh on the inside when Katniss kept saying

[Show spoiler]"President Snow" over and over in that helpless tone of voice like 10 times. I half-expected her voice to grow stronger and meaner as if to command Snow to come on screen.

[Panemlights]

Originally Posted by Michael Bay Fan

oooooooooh, I'm so tempted to look at that spoiler. But I will refrain from it.

Usually I'm the one who loves to spoil people, but in this case, it's too good and the reactions will be great.

[VagueSimplicity]

Originally Posted by Panemlights

Usually I'm the one who loves to spoil people, but in this case, it's too good and the reactions will be great.

God I know. I just wanna go back and see it again just to hear the collective gasps in the audience again.

[jlk5844]

Saw this about 13 hours ago. Definitely the weakest of the series so far, it doesn't stand so well on its own like the previous two, but it's still good, I liked it. It wasn't particularly exciting or tense for much of it, and rather slow, which was a disappointment coming off of Catching Fire. The previous two movies dabbled in expository dialogue but Mockingjay - Part 1 lays it on thicker, the dialogue itself was meh...frequently on-the-nose, and I disliked how some characters were very underused. The whole thing after you watch it feels kind of uneventful, and lacking in behind-the-scenes at the Capitol. There are flaws in the franchise and they are ever present here, with new disappointments added on top, yet I still enjoyed seeing the actors on screen, and the mental war going on between District 13's little band of warriors (Katniss, Gale, Plutarch, Coin, etc.) and President Snow, the making of and manipulation involved with propaganda. And I haven't read the books so there were a couple surprising moments . Still, there was a pacing issue, it felt like it could end in multiple places, and what it did end on was kind of underwhelming, not the gripping cliffhanger Catching Fire delivered. I also had to pee really bad for the second half of the movie.

I'd give it a 3.5/5

For reference, I had the first movie at 4/5 and CF at 4.5/5. Perhaps I'm being a little generous with the first and third movie's scores. I hope the final installment corrects the wheel and matches CF.

[jlk5844]

Did anyone notice how Philip Seymour Hoffman's delivery was different this time around? Sounded not as "confident" to put it one way, more reserved. Almost sounded like he was sick. Not used to seeing him this way, he seemed typical PSH in Catching Fire.

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Saw this about 13 hours ago. Definitely the weakest of the series so far, it doesn't stand so well on its own like the previous two, but it's still good, I liked it. It wasn't particularly exciting or tense for much of it, and rather slow, which was a disappointment coming off of Catching Fire. The previous two movies dabbled in expository dialogue but Mockingjay - Part 1 lays it on thicker, the dialogue itself was meh...frequently on-the-nose, and I disliked how some characters were very underused. The whole thing after you watch it feels kind of uneventful, and lacking in behind-the-scenes at the Capitol. There are flaws in the franchise and they are ever present here, with new disappointments added on top, yet I still enjoyed seeing the actors on screen, and the mental war going on between District 13's little band of warriors (Katniss, Gale, Plutarch, Coin, etc.) and President Snow, the making of and manipulation involved with propaganda. And I haven't read the books so there were a couple surprising moments . Still, there was a pacing issue, it felt like it could end in multiple places, and what it did end on was kind of underwhelming, not the gripping cliffhanger Catching Fire delivered. I also had to pee really bad for the second half of the movie.

I'd give it a 3.5/5

For reference, I had the first movie at 4/5 and CF at 4.5/5. Perhaps I'm being a little generous with the first and third movie's scores. I hope the final installment corrects the wheel and matches CF.

I share your thoughts exactly. Same way I felt, minus taking a leak in the second half of the movie

[hawaii sun]

Movie was totally unnecesarry, this should've been only one movie.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

[Show spoiler]I agree with the first point, but Katniss doesn't kill Snow in the book, she arrows Coin in the noggin and Snow seems to die during the commotion. As for Prim, they can't literally blow her apart because it's a PG-13, I think we'll probably get a few flashes of light, a few quick cuts, fade to black and then Katniss in hospital getting treatment for her burns.

I also wonder what they'll be doing with Johanna. The guys who haven't read the book have no idea that she basically does nothing apart from being even flakier than Katniss is, but given Lionsgate's marketing which included her and Peeta alongside Snow they may well give her something more to do. Perhaps she'll kill Snow (to make it more 'dramatic' a death for such an evil character) when Katniss takes out Coin? Who knows.

[Show spoiler]Yeah not sure why I said Snow, it shocked me when she fired and the chapter ended with Coin falling over dead. I kinda wish they had made the children of the Capitol leaders participate in a special games, would've been nice payback.

[Edword]

Originally Posted by R3P0

It honestly ended 30 seconds to late, should have ended on the first fade to black

Honestly, I think they should have ended it when

[Show spoiler]Boggs his Peeta on the head to knock him out.

Originally Posted by Michael Bay Fan

I thought it was weird how

[Show spoiler]Joanna was basically a cameo in this while she was a supporting player in CF. So I guess those Trailers or teasers from earlier this year were never meant to be part of the film.

How to go into my explanation on what happen to her.

The teasers were meant to be like "propos" for the movie. She'll have a bigger role in the second movie. Unless they were going to show her being tortured there wouldn't have been a big role for her in this half.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Edword

Honestly, I think they should have ended it when

[Show spoiler]Boggs his Peeta on the head to knock him out.

The teasers were meant to be like "propos" for the movie. She'll have a bigger role in the second movie. Unless they were going to show her being tortured there wouldn't have been a big role for her in this half.

[Show spoiler]The movie was always going to end after Peeta assaulted Katniss, I was surprised it went at all after that. The only other possibility was after she got shot but that's about 3/4 of the way through the book so it was unlikely.

[Kaiju]

Daaaaaaamn, 5/10 for the site review.

[BigBlue10989]

Originally Posted by Kaiju

Daaaaaaamn, 5/10 for the site review.

His points make no sense.