Film Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. Rated M (mature themes, violence and horror sequence). 137 minutes. Directed by Francis Lawrence. Screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong. Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins.

It was never going to be easy. With the arrival of the game-changing The Hunger Games (2012), the epic contest between Collins’ reluctant heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and the menacing megalomaniac President Snow (Donald Sutherland) kicked off in spectacular fashion. Then came the sequel Catching Fire (2013), and then the first part of Collins’ third novel in the series, Mockingjay, released in 2014 as the first of a two-part finale. 

It is impossible to deny that with each new addition, The Hunger Games has progressively lost all of its uniqueness. Instead, in this ultra-violent and haphazard Part 2, the once complex and resourceful Katniss is reduced to a blind-sided, vengeful warrior, fixated on assassinating Snow.

With Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin) and a handful of other bodies in tow for the astonishingly high body count, Katniss chooses a ridiculously conventional route to Snow’s mansion –exposing herself and her unfortunate comrades to any number of cruel (and obvious) life-ending dangers.

The essence of Part 2’s problems lies in the commercially-driven decision to split the third book into two films. It rapidly becomes obvious that, apart from the Peeta’s character development (beautifully played out by Hutcherson), there is neither enough interesting story developments nor originality to guarantee it will survive, dramatically, as a stand-alone film.

Francis Lawrence (no relation to Jennifer), has directed all but the first film in the series. And as the sun sets over the final scene, it is difficult not to imagine that he might be feeling as though he’s arrived a little too late at what had been a fantastic party, only to discover that there’s only a cold sausage roll left.

And no more beer.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Spectre

Spectre. Rated M (action violence). 148 minutes. Directed by Sam Mendes. Screenplay by John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Jez Butterworth.

For this twenty-fourth film about Ian Fleming’s illusive Secret Agent 007, Mendes (Skyfall, American Beauty) and his writers (with Butterworth making his 007 debut having penned the gripping Black Mass), deliver yet another spectacular feat of cinematic endurance. 

James Bond (Daniel Craig) is in Mexico City on unofficial business to assassinate Marco Sciarra (Alessandro Cremona), a terrorist who plans to detonate a massive bomb in the middle of the crowded city. When he souvenirs Sciarra’s ring, engraved with an octopus, Bond discovers that he worked for an organisation known as Spectre – a group responsible for a series of devastating terrorist attacks, planned to ensure the world’s most powerful governments buy-in to ‘Nine Eyes’, the global surveillance network Spectre has created.

When Bond learns from MI6 rogue agent Mr White (Jesper Christensen) that his daughter Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) can lead him to Ernst Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), the mastermind behind Spectre, Bond teams up with the, at first, reluctant Swann to bring the organisation down.

Spectre is, in every sense, a massive undertaking – and having landed in Mexico City for the annual Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) festivities, the epic scale of what lies ahead for our hero becomes crystal clear. Mexico City, London, the Austrian Alps, Rome and Morocco provide the astonishing array of locations, with the moody nature and purpose of each one captured brilliantly by cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (Interstellar).

Craig returns in superb form, powering through the grand adventure in a role he has now definitively made his own. Within the outstanding ensemble, Seydoux (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) is perfect as the cool Madeleine, while Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, Water for Elephants) brings the sinister Blofeld to life in a performance of the purest evil.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: The Last Witch Hunter

The Last Witch Hunter. Rated M (supernatural themes and violence). 106 minutes. Directed by Breck Eisner. Screenplay by Cory Goodman, Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.

Cursed with immortality for preventing the Witch Queen (Julie Engelbrecht) from wiping out humanity with a deadly plague during the Middle Ages, witch hunter Kaulder (Vin Diesel) now tries to keep the peace between witches and humans in the modern world.

Accompanied by priests (known as Dolans) from a secret witch hunting organisation, Kaulder realises that traces of dark magic are beginning to appear. When the 36th Dolan (Michael Caine) suddenly vanishes in what was obviously a violent struggle, it becomes clear that the Witch Queen and her followers are planning their revenge.

On paper, The Last Witch Hunter would have looked like a sure-fire hit. As he has proved with his successful Fast and the Furious and The Chronicles of Riddick films, Diesel is a capable and charismatic star. Even though his range as an actor is limited, he always knows how to give his devoted fans everything they want.

The final result on screen, however, is a different matter. It all begins promisingly, with a great (if very dark) opening sequence in which Kaulder and the Witch Queen fight to the ‘death’. But once we arrive in modern times, the script becomes jumbled and confused. In Caine’s sudden absence, Elijah Wood (The Lord of The Rings) becomes the 37th Dolan before he, too, is given less and less to do.

Apart from a couple of well-staged sequences overloaded with CGI, the film’s real interest lies in the character of Chloe (Rose Leslie), a ‘dream walker’, who accompanies Kaulder into the dream state of his past. Leslie is a great match for the smouldering Diesel, and in many of their scenes together, we get a real sense of the fascinating film The Last Witch Hunter might have been.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: The Dressmaker

The Dressmaker. Rated M (mature themes, violence, coarse language and sexual references). 119 minutes. Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse. Screenplay by Jocelyn Moorhouse and P J Hogan. Based on the novel by Rosalie Ham.

Having been accused of murdering a schoolboy at their school and forcibly removed from her home as a ten year-old, Myrtle ‘Tilly’ Dunnage (Kate Winslet) returns home to Dungatar to visit her ageing mother, Molly (Judy Davis).

In the years she was away, Tilly studied the art of dressmaking in Europe. Using her ability to create fabulous gowns, she ingratiates herself back into the lives of the suspicious and still hate-filled locals to discover the truth of what really happened that fateful day in the schoolyard.

It has been 24 years since Jocelyn Moorhouse’s debut with Proof (1991), and what a sensational and long-overdue return to our screens The Dressmaker is. Just like Ham’s heroine, Moorhouse delivers a rule-shattering and visually arresting film that captivates from the first frame.

In spite of its grand playing and visual style, The Dressmaker is not an easy film to experience. The many elements of the story are infused with punishing sadness and nagging pessimism. The stellar supporting cast, including Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving, Sarah Snook, Barry Otto, Julia Blake, Kerry Fox and Alison Whyte, respond brilliantly to Moorhouse’s highly-styled demands. Shane Bourne, in particular, leaves his more well-known comedic persona at home for his turn as the grotesque Councillor Evan Pettyman.

Marion Boyce and Margot Wilson’s costumes are simply superb, while veteran cinematographer Donald McAlpine captures the vast and constantly fluctuating moods of the story flawlessly. While Kate Winslet is never less than in complete command, it is Judy Davis’ cantankerous, sly, flirtatious Molly who could only be delivered by an actress at the very peak of her powers – and Davis’ unforgettable performance has to be experienced to be believed.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.