MOVIE REVIEW: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

When you split the final book of a bestselling series into two movies, it is expected that the first  would be like an extended trailer of the final one which is the pinnacle. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 is just like that.  It is basically a build up to the final film which as people who had read the book would know is the just reward that the lead Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) will reap after overcoming all those trials that she encountered throughout the series. Don't expect those action packed scenes from the games of the first two movies.

What saves the film from total boredom is the cast itself. The always great Lawrence was born to play the lead character and in Mockingjay Part 1, she showed more range and depth as her character struggles to bring back into the fold the one guy she has affections for: Peeta Melark (Josh Hutcherson) who was brainwashed by the evil President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and amidst the PR maneuvering of the rebellion's leader President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) and her spinmaster Plutarch Heavensbee (the late great Phillip Seymour Hoffman) to be the face of the rebellion. Lawrence, Moore, Hoffman and the other member of the cast Woody Harrelson earned a combined two wins and 13 nominations in the Oscars. With that acting pedigree alone, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 is well worth your time and ticket at the movies.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Theory of Everything

Ever since I was a kid, I always associate Stephen Hawking as a paralytic intellectual who's always in a wheelchair with a robotic voice, then after watching The Theory of Everything, which is basically his love story with Jane Wilde Hawking whose book "Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen" was the basis for the film, the childhood impression still stays but it added something else: that he has a heart and an inspiration for people for all ages in the best love story I'd seen in 2014.

Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables, My Week with Marilyn) was born to play Stephen Hawking with a performance that complimented his physical built to his character's eventual physical deterioration due to motor-neuron disease. Add to that with both natural charm and a sharp sense of humor, Redmayne's acting won't be forgotten once awards season starts in a few weeks from now, alongside Felicity Jones (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)'s quiet yet domineering performance as Jane the wife. Part My Left Foot part A Beautiful Mind, The Theory of Everything is one of 2014's best films.

MOVIE REVIEW: Big Hero 6

The merger of Marvel into the Disney group of companies is fully realized in Big Hero 6. Loosely based on one of it's obscure titles in enormous comic catalog, it is the story of  Hiro Hamada, a prodigy who ends up with a robot named Baymax, after his older brother tech geek Tadashi gets killed in an unfortunate accident. Together with his group of friends, they form the group hence the title to find out the truth about the incident that put them all together.

It could have been one of those generic cartoons with the themes of family love and the antagonist who wants control of the world but Big Hero 6 triumphs with a great story from a group of writers led by Don Hall (who also directed the film). He also wrote the sweet new version of Winnie the Pooh (2011) as well as 2009's The Princess and the Frog. The setting of the city of San Fransokyo also compliments the film: blending east and west, it is one of the best looking animated cities since last year's San Franjose from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. I guess that you can never go wrong with the City by the Bay!!

Disney also finds a merchandising goldmine with Baymax the robot. With it's marshmallow like body and gentle loving personality, kids who saw the film would want to have one to call their own. And unlike Disney Pixar's Cars which spun spin off films and millions of dollars of merchandise revenues to the company, Big Hero 6 is a far off better film that deserves more than what the automotive animated films franchise gets. Can't wait for the sequel.