The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

MY RATING: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire my most anticipated movie of 2013 and I am very glad that it was able to live up to the hype and the expectations of the film. I thoroughly enjoyed the Hunger Games book series written by Suzanne Collins as well as the first film instalment. The film effectively summarised and showcased the essence of the book. Francis Lawrence directed the film really well. Many of the scenes throughout the movie were spot-on and were as emotional as it is in the book. Despite being a little rushed and choppy at times I am happy that the film has a good progression throughout and that it was able to express the gravity and intensity of the plot. I am also very glad that Lawrence removed the use of shaky camera which was one of the criticisms of the first film. 

I am also as impressed by the film's casting as I was watching the first film. The cast portrayed the characters very well and many of the characters in the film - including Finnick, Mags, Beetee, Wiress and Gale - were very similar to how I imagined them while reading the books. Jennifer Lawrence did an amazing portrayal of Katniss and really showcased her acting skills in this film. She managed to bring across the characters emotions and thoughts through her expressions in a very impactful way - a reason why she deserves the accolades for her remarkable acting.

However, I am a little disappointed the film did not spend a sufficient amount of time in the arena, which is what many fans are most looking forward to in the film. I do understand that the focus of the second film has to be on the uprising and rebellion and that it has to be a prelude to the last book on the uprising but it would be much better if there were more screen time for the events in the arena. 

In all The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has improved upon its predecessor and it is a must-catch for anyone who has read and enjoyed the books. 

Divergent Trailer

Divergent is one of the films I am looking forward to greatly in the first half of 2014. I have finished reading all three books (Divergent, Insurgent and Allegiant) by Veronica Roth and they were really intense and amazing.

It talks about Chicago in the dystopian future where people are categorised into five different "factions" based on their personalities- Abnegation (the selfless), Candor (the honest), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent), Dauntless (the brave). Every 16-year old has to take an aptitude test that will tell them which faction they are best suited for, after which they must decide whether to remain in their faction they were born in or to transfer to a different one.

Beatrice Prior, born in Abnegation, found out that she possess qualities of more than one faction, making her "Divergent". She must then make the difficult decision of which faction she should reside in for the rest of her life and struggle to keep her "Divergent" a secret for fear it may cost her her life.

The official trailer for the film just came out and it looks great! I hope that the film turns out to be as good as the books did.

Thor: The Dark World

MY RATING: RECOMMENDED

Thor: The Dark World is one of my most anticipated films of 2013 and I am glad that it did not disappoint me. It is decent, exciting and humorous - qualities I look for in a good superhero film. Marvel has been doing really great with its cinematic universe and I hope they can maintain or even improve their standards with their future films.

The ancient dark elves have awaken and are planning to plunge the entire universe back into darkness using a dark force. Thor must reluctantly seek the help of his untrustworthy step-brother Loki in order to vanquish them. The battle rages across few the 9 different realigning realms, involving Jane Foster in the process and Thor ultimately has to defeat the Dark Elf ruler Malekith or risk the destruction of the whole universe.

To begin with, Thor: The Dark World has to be one of the humorous Marvel films yet. I particularly enjoyed how almost every character managed to bring some humour into the film. My favourites have to be Darcy's and Loki's commentaries, both Kat Dennings and Tom Hiddleston played their roles extremely well. There was also a cameo from another Marvel character that made me crack up. That being said I feel that Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has a more humorous vibe than the first phase. Iron Man 3 was also a unexpectedly funny film. One parallel I can draw is from both films is that they really know how to seek humour in circumstances when the heroes' tools fails them.

I am glad that the film is well paced and scripted and that the writers really made an effort to explain the comic-book jargon to the audience. The film was also pretty intense at certain times especially when the battles alternate between the different realms. It has great visual effects and I was surprised that there were scenes that hit me rather emotionally.

In all Thor: The Dark World is an exciting sequel to the first film as well as The Avengers. I genuinely enjoyed watching it and in my opinion am glad that it improves upon its predecessor with more action and humour.

SPOILER ALERT FOR THE CONTENTS BELOW

We're The Millers

MY RATING: GOOD ONE-TIME CATCH 

We're The Millers could be one of the funniest comedies in 2013. Jason Sudeikis plays David Clark, a drug dealer who's been robbed and is forced by his boss to smuggle a "smidge" of marijuana across the Mexican border. Realising that a seemingly innocent all-american family can cross the border unsuspected, he hires his stripper neighbour named Rose played by Jennifer Aniston to be his wife as well as a runaway, Casey, and his dorky neighbour, Kenny to be his kids. As with any road trip, they are faced with the constant bickering, deadly insects, dangerous criminals and another extremely-annoying overly-friendly seemingly-perfect all-american family in an overly cosy 1990s RV.

This comedy worked for me as it was genuinely funny. I enjoy watching how different people with different personalities put up with one another under such crazy circumstances.The writing of the film was fine although it could have been more structured and less predictable. The comedy is mainly crude and visual which worked well for me but not necessarily for everyone. The main purpose of a comedy film is to make viewers laugh which this film does well despite certain scenes being overly exaggerated or unrealistic. 

In all the film is a good recommendation if one is looking for a show that makes one laugh. 

Ender's Game

MY RATING: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 

Ender's Game was one of the films that propelled me to start this blog. This film greatly surprised me because it gave me a lot more than what expected. In fact, it was one of my favourite films of 2013. I was initially not inclined to catch this film as the trailer reminded me of Tron. I only watched it when my friend offered me and a few other free tickets his parents won somewhere. This was last Tuesday and when I found out that it is an exclusive screening one week before the opening day, I simply could not turn him down.

Ender's Game combines the 3 main things I always hope to see in a great sci-fi movie: a deep plot, spectacular visual effects and an incredible soundtrack. I entered the cinema expecting a simplistic and erroneous plot but little did I know it was adapted from one of the most popular military books. It was well adapted and contained minimal loopholes which you would normally expect from an adapted film and albeit its fast pace, it still give the audience a full picture of what is going on. The story comprises of several twists and revelations that will leave you to the edge of your seats.

Its CGI is impressive by any standards and although they contain scenes with hundred of spaceships flying around in different directions, it was well edited and does not make your head spin. The soundtrack of the film was epic. It really reflects the intensity of the scenes in the vastness of space as well as bring out your emotions so that you can relate to how the characters felt. I have to give it to the film's composer Steve Jablonsky for creating such an impressive soundtrack.

In all, Ender's Game is an impressive film that deserves more than a 66% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

SPOILER ALERT FOR THE CONTENTS BELOW

Hello Everyone

Hello. My name is Jasper and this is my new blog. I started this blog because I felt that I have a lot of things in my mind that are left unsaid and I hope that this would be a great avenue for me to express my thoughts and ideas. In real life, everyone is unique because we all have a special set of interests. The problem is that that not everyone can relate to your interests and sometimes your thoughts and opinions are left forgotten or unappreciated. This is how I usually feel...and I hope this blog changes it.

A little bit more about me: I love films, for one, and I see them as more than a 2 hour thrill that you forget a few days later. I am intrigued by film making and I find the different components of film making - directing, editing, visual effects, storyboarding, screenplay, music - very fascinating. I have set this blog to be a little more film-oriented because I can't seem to stop having opinions about the films I watch but ultimately this is a blog about me and I do with to include the many other aspects of my life. Besides film, I am also a fan of television, especially sit-coms, my favourites being The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family. I like listening to music and watching theatre musicals. I am also a techno-geek, an advocate of Google. I have a strong interest in aeroplanes and I plan to pursue a degree in aerospace engineering.

I have always wanted to do this for a while and I hope that this would be the start of something incredible.