The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Credible Credits

Year: 2013

Director: Francis Lawrence

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, and Woody Harrelson

Tagline: Remember Who the Enemy Is
Synopsis: With rebellion percolating in the Districts, President Snow declares the Quarter Quell, where past victors -- including Katniss and Peeta -- must compete against each other.

Review

I suppose I should start once again with the disclaimer that I haven't read the books.  That said, perhaps the highest compliment I can pay Catching Fire is that it didn't feel like an adaptation.  It just felt like a continuation of the previous movie (which did feel like an adaptation and I had to ask a friend to explain a few details that made no sense).  Anyway, the point is, I went into the movie not knowing what to expect or how things would end.

The movie was fantastic.  It was stronger in just about every way than the previous film (and I liked the previous film).  There was a lot more depth to this one.  I felt like we got to know and understand the characters a lot better.  We got to truly see the toll the previous Hunger Games has taken on Katniss.  And despite being a very lengthy film, it was well paced.  I felt involved and on the edge of my seat the entire time, wondering how things would pan out.

Catching Fire is very much about cost.  So many of the characters -- both major and minor -- are beginning to see the world as it really is.  While on the Victor's Tour, Haymitch tells Katniss and Peeta they are supposed to be distractions from the real problems.  But they aren't successful at being distractions.  Instead they have become symbols of hope.  People have discovered that the Capitol is not invulnerable.  But since the Capitol is still strong, any resistance, any rebellion is quickly and brutally crushed.  Yet character after character demonstrates their willingness to risk, and if needs be pay, the cost for what they believe in.  I can't say anything more here without creating spoilers.

Overall the film was fantastic.  Days later I'm still mulling over things that were said or done.  The visuals were outstanding and the soundtrack was perfect as well.  I look forward to the next installment.

*** Spoiler Section ***
It seemed clear fairly early on that at least some of the tributes had decided to not play "the game" and were instead primarily interested in preserving Katniss and/or Peeta as symbols of hope and rebellion.  I actually started getting a little frustrated with Katniss for not catching on.  Character after character, from the old man in District 11 to Cinna to Mags to Johanna, showed that they understood what was really at stake and that certain things were worth dying for.  It was clear Cinna was going to die as soon as the dress transformed (which was awesome, by the way).  He knew what he was doing and what message he was sending.  He must have known there would be repercussions.  But Katniss, she's still myopically trying to play the game and survive.

I suppose this isn't so much a qualm with the film as the story itself.  Maybe I'm just used to a different type of hero.  I read somewhere that a hero is not one who wins the prize, a hero is one who pays the price.  President Snow is right, Katniss is still only focused on her own survival and the survival of those closest to her.  She fails to see any bigger picture.  Even Prim seemed to understand that there were things more important than mere survival.  At least to Katniss' credit she was willing to sacrifice herself for Peeta.

Quotable Quotes

• "Any last advice?"  "Stay alive." -- Katniss and Haymitch
• "Tick tock." -- Wiress
• "So it's you and a syringe against the Capitol?  See, this is why no one lets you make the plans."  -- Haymitch

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Babette's Feast

Credible Credits

Year: 1987

Director: Gabriel Axel

Starring: Stephane Audran, Bodil Kjer, Birgitte Federspiel, and Jarl Kulle

Tagline: N/A
Synopsis: Babette, a political refugee and former chef, comes to live with two spinster sisters to serve as their housekeeper and cook.

Review

No, this isn't playing at a theatre near you.  It isn't at the Redbox down the street.  It may not even be at your local library.  You've probably never even heard of Babette's Feast (or Babettes Gaestebud, its original Danish title).  If I hadn't been a film student I probably would never have heard of it either.  And my life would have been a little emptier.

I was introduced to Babette's Feast in a class called Transcendence: Religion and Film.  In this context, "transcendence" is the ability to lift a person above their current state.  It is not about whether a film is overtly religious, but whether a film is spiritual.  Allow me to use some previously reviewed films as examples.  The Saratov Approach is an overtly religious film that also succeeds at being spiritual.  Gravity, on the other hand, is not religious, but is still spiritual.  Babette's Feast, like Saratov, is both.

I fear I will not be able to do the beauty of this story justice.  The power lies in the telling, not the retelling.  Nor do I expect most of those of you who may read this to hunt down this film and watch it.  It's a slow film, quiet and thoughtful.  It is a feast to be savored, not a meal to be hurried.  And it's in Danish and French with subtitles.  So I recognize it isn't a film for everyone.  But it is beautiful nonetheless.  It didn't win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film for nothing.

The basic story is that Filippa and Martine are the daughters of an austere Danish minister in a small, isolated village.  In their youth, both women chose to sacrifice opportunities for very different lives in order to remain with their father and their church.  Years later, after their father has passed away, the two sisters continue in their quiet lives helping the poor in the village and leading what's left of their father's congregation.  Then one storm-tossed day Babette arrives at their doorstep.  She is a political refugee from France.  Her husband and sons have been killed.  She has nothing.  But the letter of introduction she brings from a mutual acquaintance says she "can cook."  So the sisters take her in as their housekeeper and cook.

For years, Babette serves the sisters humbly and faithfully.  She becomes a blessing in their lives and thus allows them to bless the lives of others.  Plus everybody eats a little better too.  But then the unexpected occurs: Babette wins a lottery and 10,000 francs (roughly an upper middle class yearly salary).  To show her appreciation for the sisters' generosity over the years, Babette offers to cook them a French dinner to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their father's birth.  The puritanical sisters warily accept.

What Babette offers is not simply a meal, in part because she is not simply a cook.  Babette is a chef, an artist.  She prepares the meal not only with the finest ingredients, but with all her talent, her skill, her gratitude, her love, and her joy.  The result is miraculous.  It's not water-to-wine miraculous, more hard-hearts-become-soft miraculous.  In a previous scene, the little congregation was seen bickering and quarreling and generally being anything but unified.  Yet this feast brings them together, and not just around the dinner table.

If the body and spirit make up the soul of a person, then both the body and the spirit must be fed for the soul to be truly nourished.  Babette's feast feeds both.  It's kind of like the ultimate Thanksgiving dinner.  The word "sacrament" means taking part in a sacred offering.  In that limited sense, Babette's feast is a sacrament, and it reminds the little congregation of the true Sacrament.  As their stomachs fill, so do their hearts.  Grudges are forsaken.  Grievances are forgotten.  Gratitude is found and unity is reforged.  The miracle is not in the feast, just as it is not in the bread and water/wine.  The miracle is in the love and sacrifice the food and drink symbolize.

*** Spoiler Section ***
It is not until all the guests are gone that the full nature of Babette's gift and sacrifice is discovered.  After all her hard work, Babette looks tired but satisfied.  She splashes her face with ice water and enjoys a glass of wine for herself.  The sisters join her to offer their compliments and their gratitude.  Babette then reveals that she was once the head chef at a prestigious Parisian restaurant.  She then quietly goes about collecting the dishes.

Feeling that this confirms their sad suspicions, the sisters ask when she will return to Paris.  Babette answers that she is not returning to Paris ... for she has no money.  She spent the entire 10,000 francs on the dinner, noting that was the cost for dinner for 12 at the restaurant where she was chef.  The sisters are stunned, to say the least.  Babette goes on to explain that it was not simply a gesture of gratitude; it was a chance for her to offer her utmost best as an artist.  It was a chance for her to use her God-given talent to bless the lives of those she loves.  She says simply that when she cooked, it made people happy.  What more could an artist ask or hope for?

Quotable Quotes

• "An artist is never poor." -- Babette
• "Throughout the world sounds one long cry from the heart of the artist: Give me the chance to do my very best." -- Babette
• "In Paradise you will be the great artist that God meant you to be.  Ah, how you will delight the angels!" -- Achille Papin to Filippa and later Filippa to Babette

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Thor: The Dark World

Credible Credits

Year: 2013

Director: Alan Taylor

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, and Christopher Eccleston

Tagline: None
Synopsis: Thor must team up with Loki to save the woman he loves ... and the entire universe.

Review

I really liked Thor.  So I went into Thor: The Dark World with pretty high expectations.  I was not disappointed.  Three things that I enjoyed about the first film were all present for the sequel: humor, personal/family conflict (amidst the trans-worlds conflict), and Asgard.

Unlike the first film, this one spends much more time on Asgard.  We get to see much more of the world, the culture, and the people.  Without giving too much away, can I just say that the Asgardians have the coolest funerary rites ever?

As for personal/family conflict and humor, the film is packed with both.  And I thought it did a good job balancing the two.  Of all the Marvel movies, this may well be the funniest.  I think just about every primary and secondary character gets at least one great, witty line.  Loki and Darcy by far have the most though.  But, like I said, the film also has some angst which helps to keep the characters interesting and grounded.

The villain, Malekith, is a bit on the bland side I suppose, while still being menacing.  He simply wants to get things back to the way they were in the "good old days" when there was just darkness.  And he is willing to destroy literally everything and everyone to do that.  He has a rather interesting henchman who becomes what they call "Kursed."  He kind of reminded me of a glorified berserker.  It was also an interesting change to see elves as the bad guys (Malekith and the other dark elves look nothing like Elrond, Legolas, or Ernie Keebler).

In terms of its cinematic qualities, Thor: The Dark World certainly delivers.  It is visually stunning and beautiful.  There were even a couple times when I thought to myself, "Hey, that's a cool shot."  The score was also great.  I may have to buy part of it (I love film scores).

One last note before I get into spoilers.  The film has a few great cameos, but one that made me smile (and doesn't spoil anything, I promise) is when Jane, Darcy, Selvig, and Ian are eating breakfast in their London flat.  In the middle of the table is a package of digestive biscuits (yummy British cookies).  It made me smile.

*** Spoiler Section ***

In the last film, Frigga (Thor's mother) didn't get a whole lot of screen time.  In this movie she gets to be more a part of the action and Frigga is friggin' awesome (sorry, I couldn't resist the spelling similarities).  Not only does she get to verbally one up Odin, she also momentarily stumps the quick-witted Loki, outsmarts the main villain whom she then bests in one-on-one combat.  Awesome.  A strong, intelligent woman who also cares deeply about her family and is willing to die for what she believes in.  We should name a day of the week after her ...

Loki, the silver-tongued trickster, pretty much steals the movie.  He's just a fun character.  I didn't believe his ruse of stabbing Thor and handing Jane over to Malekith.  That was a bit too dark for him.  I also didn't believe it when he "died."  Again, that just wasn't quite his character.  But it is amazing how many times Thor falls for what he sees with Loki.  I wonder what Loki did with Odin.  I guess we'll have to wait for Thor 3.

I loved the climax, with the world jumping and Selvig and Jane's remote control as it were for the transportation.  It was very fun and different.  The actual resolution, however, felt a bit rehashed.  Just like in the first film, Thor risks his life to defeat the bad guy, nearly dies, but is ultimately saved.  I was actually expecting Jane to die.  Not that I wanted her to, but it somehow would have been fitting.  Based on the trailers, I wondered if Thor would have to sacrifice Jane to save the universe.  And then in that scene I wondered if Jane would sacrifice herself for Thor.  I'm glad she lives to see another sequel (hopefully she can slap Loki again), but it would have been a powerful ending.

Lastly, can I just say how much I loved "Captain America's" cameo?  That may have been the funniest part in the whole movie.

Quotable Quotes

• "There is nothing more reassuring than knowing that the world is crazier than you are." -- Dr. Erik Selvig
• "I had things under control!"  "Is that why everything is on fire?" -- Sif and Thor
• "She [Frigga] wouldn't want us to fight."  "Well, she wouldn't exactly be shocked." Thor and Loki
• "Tada!" -- Loki
• Basically anything coming out of either Loki's or Darcy's mouth

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Ender's Game

Credible Credits

Year: 2013

Director: Gavin Hood

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, and Ben Kingsley

Tagline: This Is Not a Game
Synopsis: Ender Wiggin is a brilliant boy recruited and trained to defend Earth from an alien threat.

Review

I'll admit it from the start: I haven't read the book.  Whether that increases or diminishes my credibility to review this movie I leave to you.

A few posts ago I said that one of the hallmarks of a good movie is that it sticks with you after the credits roll.  Even hours or days later, you may still find yourself thinking back on something a character did or said or how the plot unfolded.  By that standard, Ender's Game is a good movie.  It certainly has left me thinking the last few days ... thinking and analyzing.

Visually the film is terrific.  I read somewhere that one of the reasons it took so long for the book to be adapted to the big screen is because the technology simply wasn't there to do it justice.  The technology is there now and it was beautiful.  "Seamless" is a word critics like to use when talking about visual effects; the idea being that you simply cannot tell where reality ends and computer generated images begin.  At least from my one viewing, the effects seemed pretty seamless to me.  I believed in the weightlessness in the battle room.  And overall, it felt like a "real" world.

One difficulty the film had was the fact it often felt like a book adaptation.  I felt like I was at times missing information or that we were being rushed through scenes and sequences that there was more to.  That is of course a difficulty inherent in chopping a book down into a two hour run time.  But it shouldn't feel like you're missing information.  In that sense, I think I might have liked the movie more if I had read the book so I could fill in some of the gaps.

Perhaps it was a result of the above difficulty, but I found it hard to understand the characters.  Asa Butterfield did a good job of portraying a tactically brilliant, albeit socially awkward Ender.  The other characters didn't feel as fleshed out.  They were just there.  Case in point: while I thought Harrison Ford did a good job as Col. Hyrum Graff, I never felt I understood what made him "tick."

What has stuck with me in the days since I saw Ender's Game is the story itself.  It raises all sorts of ethical questions.  And the movie doesn't shy away from the fact there are some grey areas.  However questionable some of their actions may seem, most of the characters are really just doing the best they know how in complex, high stakes situations.  They don't even necessarily like what they are doing, but in true Machiavellian style, they believe it is ultimately for the greater good.  As I watched the story unfold, two verses from the Book of Mormon kept coming to mind:

Now the people said unto Gidgiddoni: Pray unto the Lord, and let us go up upon the mountains and into the wilderness, that we may fall upon the robbers and destroy them in their own lands.  But Gidgiddoni saith unto them: The Lord forbid ... we will wait till they shall come against us. (3 Nephi 3: 20-21)

But when I [Zeniff] saw that which was good among them I was desirous that they should not be destroyed. (Mosiah 9:1)

Whether Orson Scott Card had those passages in mind as he wrote the book I have no idea.

Overall, I liked Ender's Game.  It's a well done movie that is beautifully rendered and decently strung together.  And it makes you think, which I always appreciate in a film.  And although I'm not going to rush out and read the book, I'm still very glad I saw the movie and I recommend it. 

Quotable Quotes

• "In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him." -- Ender Wiggin
• "Since when do you have to tell the enemy when he has won?" -- Mazer Rackham

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Coming Soon to a Blog Near You

Coming Attractions - 2013

The holiday movie season is now in full swing.  There's pretty much a new and exciting movie coming out every week for the rest of the year.  That's a lot of movies (and a lot of popcorn).  With perhaps one exception, I plan to see all of the following movies regardless of what the critics say.  Here's hoping they are all critical successes, though.  Because I really am excited for all of them.

Anyway.  Here's the list for the remainder of the year (in order of release date):

• Ender's Game
• Thor: The Dark World
• The Book Thief
• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
• Frozen
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• Saving Mr. Banks
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

That should keep me busy through New Years.

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Saratov and Gravity

Spoiler Alert

Within a week's time I've seen both The Saratov Approach and Gravity.  They are interesting movies to watch back to back like that.

In some ways, the movies are very different.  Alfonso Cuaron may well have spent more money on one scene of Gravity than Garrett Batty spent on his entire film.  I don't know.  But one is big budget Hollywood and the other is LDS indie.  Gravity has Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.  Saratov has ... Corbin Allred (no offense, but outside LDS cinema, do many people know Corbin Allred?).  One film takes place in space, the other in Russia.

Ultimately though, both movies are about survival.  They are both about people trying to survive unimaginable circumstances.

Throughout the stories, Dr. Stone (Sandra Bullock's character) and Elders Probst and Tuttle must face their fears.  At first, they all hyperventilate with fear and feel utterly alone.  But gradually, they collect their wits and begin to do the best they can in their respective situations.  And in both films, there comes a moment of ultimate crisis. 

Dr. Stone and Probst/Tuttle are faced with essentially the same choice: face certain death or do whatever it takes to survive.  What is so fascinating is that although the choice is basically the same, what is right is not.  The elders make the opposite decision from Dr. Stone.  Yet somehow the outcome is the same: survival.

Dr. Stone's crises comes because she is stranded in space with seemingly no hope left.  She's scared and she doesn't want to die.  But it seems inevitable.  In complete contrast to the elders, she mourns that she has no one to even pray for her, nor does she know how to pray herself because no one ever taught her how.  So, she resigns herself to her fate and depletes the oxygen supply to provide herself a quick, painless death.  But then something happens.  George Clooney's character (Matt Kowalski) shows up, talks some sense into her, and offers her a strategy to rescue herself.  It turns out that he was just a hallucination.  Or was he?

I have no idea how religious Cuaron is.  But there are definite spiritual themes in Gravity, so I'm going to take some liberty with my analysis.  Perhaps Kowalski was triggered simply by Dr. Stone's oxygen-deprived brain.  Or maybe he was an answer to Dr. Stone's unspoken prayer and God's way of speaking to her.  It doesn't seem too far-fetched of an analysis.  With renewed hope, Dr. Stone cranks up the O2 and talks to Kowalski as though he is now in heaven and gives him instructions to find her little girl (who died in an accident years ago).  And when Dr. Stone finally crash lands in the sea and at last makes it to shore, she offers a heavenward "Thank you."

Elders Probst and Tuttle also face imminent death.  They know that neither the Church, the US government, nor their families are going to pay the ransom (and they understand and accept the reasons why).  So when the opportunity to escape presents itself, they prepare to take it, even though the plan might very well lead to them having to kill one of their captors.  Both elders take their positions.  But then they stop.  Probst, who initiated the idea, feels he cannot go through with it.  The Spirit constrains him.  And although the choice is between life and death, they choose death.  All Probst really says is: "God has a plan for us."  Which of course He does and the elders are ultimately freed when their captors choose to be merciful and release them.

Though very different in many ways, both Gravity and The Saratov Approach are spiritually inspiring films.  They are more than films about survival; they are films about hope.

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Gravity

Credible Credits

Year: 2013

Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Starring: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney

Tagline: Don't Let Go
Synopsis: An accident in space leaves two astronauts adrift.

Review

For me, the true mark of a good movie is that it sticks with you long after the credits roll (the same can be true of a terrible movie, but that is beside the point).  This was such a movie.  Movies like Gravity are why I became a film student and why I remain an avid film connoisseur.  Is it the best film ever?  No.  But that doesn't make it any less brilliant, less beautiful, or less inspiring.  This film deserves to be the critical and commercial success that it is.

First off, Gravity is visually stunning.  Even without the 3D (which I avoid for various reasons), it was breathtaking.  I spent much of the movie thinking, "how on earth did they film that" (irony intended).  Because really, it feels like they filmed it in space.  The views of Earth are incredible.  The zero gravity moments are believable.  And director Cuaron deftly knows when to move in close and when to pull back.  One moment you feel claustrophobic in a space suit or escape pod and the next you feel agoraphobic at the sheer immensity of space the main characters are adrift in.

The sound design was also brilliant (and certainly deserves an Oscar nomination, at least).  The use of sound, and the lack of sound, lend themselves to the tension and emotion.  At times, all you can hear is Sandra Bullock's panicked breathing.  Dear Hollywood, silent carnage can be just as effective as (at times more effective than) ear-numbing explosions.  I also thoroughly enjoyed the musical score.  It was eerie when it needed to be eerie and triumphant when it needed to be triumphant.

Ultimately, the story is one of survival.  It is about facing fear and finding hope.  The tagline is "Don't let go," and it is as much metaphoric as it is literal.

On a side note, I loved that at one point Sandra Bullock's character uses a fire extinguisher to propel herself through space a la Wall-E.  Nice touch.

Anything else I have to say would be a spoiler.  So just go see it.

Quotable Quotes

• "Clear skies with a chance of satellite debris." -- Dr. Ryan Stone
• "Houston, I have a bad feeling about this mission." -- Matt Kowalski
• "I hate space!" -- Dr. Ryan Stone

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