THE REVIEW CORNER

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, and Donald Sutherland Directed by: Francis Lawrence Screenplay by: Peter Craig and Danny Strong Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins      It seems that the annual tradition of a Hunger Games movie has come to an end, and it's frankly about time.  So, with that said, welcome to the 4th annual Hunger Games film review.      The war between the districts of Panem and the Capitol has grown ever more violent, and the rebels seem to be closing in on a final victory over the order that has been in place for generations.  Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is almost a god-like figure to the rebels, as the Mockingly, the symbol of the rebellion.  She was made the Mockingly by President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) of the rebellion, and the leader who would take the place of President Snow once they conquer the Capitol. ...

Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard, and Ben Whishaw Directed by: Tom Hooper Screenplay by: Lucinda Coxon Based on the novel by David Ebershoff and inspired by true events      This is the story of Lili Elbe, a Danish woman who was a transgender pioneer.      Einar and Gerda Wegener (Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander respectively) are both artists in Denmark.  Einar is rather successful and Gerda is working on becoming successful.  Einar's works get many sales and are displayed frequently, while Gerda's works less so.  At first they are a happy couple, showing each other the kind of affection that newly formed couples do.  They have a great deal of lust and desire for each other when they are not painting.  They begin to play a game with each other when they go out, where Einar is someone else, a young woman named Lili.  This begins to pull on the marriage as he beings to truly enjoy being Lili and...

Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, and Chiwetel Ejiofor Directed by: Ridley Scott Screenplay by: Drew Goddard Based on the novel by Andy Weir       From Saving Private Ryan, to Interstellar,  and now The Martian, the world has spent millions of dollars trying to bring back Matt Damon.       There's been a massive dust storm on Mars at the site of the Ares 3 mission.  The astronauts commanded by Captain Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) are forced to abort the mission and return to Earth.  On the way back to the shuttle to leave the Martian surface, Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is hit by debris.  Believed to be killed by the debris, the crew leaves without him.  With no way to contact NASA, it's up to Watney to figure out how he will survive until the next mission arrives on Mars in four years.  Well, maybe NASA will figure out a way to rescue him once...

Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee, Thomas Sangster, Aidan Gillen, and Giancarlo Esposito Directed by: Wes Ball Screenplay by: T.S. Nowlin Based on the novel by James Dashner      Their first test was the maze.  Then they got out of the maze and managed to be captured by WCKD, the mysterious organization everything seems to be linked to.       Scorch Trials  picks up right were the first movie in the series left off.  The boys and Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) are no longer in the maze but instead are in a large base of some sort that is run by a man named Janson (Aidan Gillen, whom you may recognize as Petyr Baelish from the HBO series,  Game of Thrones ).  Thomas (Dylan O'Brien), the main guy in the group and "leader" thinks that something fishy is going on there.  All these people from other mazes keep showing up and some get taken, not to return again.  He gets his friends to break out of the pla...

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, and Laura Dern Directed by: Ramin Bahrani Screenplay by: Ramin Bahrani and Amir Naderi      I thought real estate was about putting people into homes, not evicting people from their homes.  But I guess that's the ugly side of real estate.  So, here is the ugly side of the business presented by 99 Homes .      Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) is a construction worker who struggles to find work in the wake of the recent financial and housing crises.  He lives with his mother, Lynn (Laura Dern), and his son, Connor (Noah Lomax).  Lynn works as a hairstylist out of their house.  Their combined income is all they have to live on and send Connor to school on, which isn't much.  Unfortunately, they are in danger of being evicted from their house.      Eviction day comes earlier than they were expected, and it's at the hands of Rick Carver (Michael Shannon), a wealthy rea...

Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Dakota Johnson, Jesse Plemons, Rory Cochrane, David Harbour, Adam Scott, and Corey Stoll Directed by: Scott Cooper Screenplay by: Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth      This is the true story of James "Whitey" Bulger and his unholy alliance with FBI agent John Connolly in order to take down their common enemy, the Angiulo family in Boston's Italian mafia.      It's the mid-1970s in south Boston, and Jimmy Bulger (Johnny Depp) is in charge.  His brother, Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a powerful state senator from Boston.  Their friend from childhood, John Connolly (Joel Egerton) is an FBI agent in Boston.  They want to rid the city of the Angiulo family in order to clean up the streets and make Boston a safer city.  The problem is then there's Jimmy and his Winter Hill gang to contend with.  Connolly, willing to take risks with the bure...

Starring: Jason Clarke, John Hawkes, Naoko Mori, Michael Kelly, Josh Brolin, Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robin Wright, and a bunch of other people Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur Screenplay by: William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy There's mountain climbing, and then there's climbing Mt. Everest.       Since Edmund Hillary and Tenzig Norgay became the first people to climb Mt. Everest in 1953, many people have attempted to climb the world's tallest mountain.  By 1996, Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) was leading guided expeditions to the top of the mountain.  This is the story of one of his trips.       Rob is not the only person who leads people to the top of the mountain.  There are others as well, such as Scott Fischer, who lead trips up to Mt. Everest.  Everybody wants to get to the summit as fast as possible and on a day where the weather won't be too bad.  On Rob's journey, there are people from many ...

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker, and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, and Oona Laurence Directed by: Antoine Fuqua Screenplay by: Kurt Sutter       Hooray!! Another boxing movie!       This is the story of a famous light-heavyweight boxing champion, Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal), and his fall from fame and rise back up to it.  Billy grew up in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York as a foster child.  When he was 12, he met a girl named Maureen (Rachel McAdams when Maureen is an adult).  Fast forward a number of years, and they are married with a daughter, Leila (Oona Laurence).  On top of that, being an undefeated fighter at 43-0, he's exceedingly wealthy.        Tragedy strikes one night at a charity event Hope speaks at for the New York City child foster care system.  Maureen is unexpectedly killed at the event after an altercation between Hope and another famous boxer at the e...

Starring: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, and Emma Thompson Directed by: Ken Kwapis Screenplay by: Rick Kerb and Bill Holderman Based on the book by Bill Bryson      For those of you who are considering hiking the Appalachian trail, let Robert Redford and Nick Nolte show you how it's done.      Bill Bryson (Robert Redford) has traveled all over the world.  He's a popular published author in the world of travel as well, with many books under his belt.  He's written about so many different places, but not about his home country, the United States.  It would appear just in the first scene in which he is being interviewed by a local television station that he has not written much about the USA.  So, one day on a walk just outside his house in New Hampshire, he decides he's going to backpack the Appalachian trail, from Georgia to Maine.      Bryson is not a young man at the time and not in the best shape of his life, mak...

Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ty Simpkins, Irrfan Khan, and Vincent D'Onofrio Directed by: Colin Trevorrow Screenplay by: Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver        It's been more than 20 years since the park first opened in the first Jurassic Park movie, and it seems as though the scientists still haven't learned their lessons from the past.        Zach and Gray (Nick Robinson and Ty Simpkins respectively) are two brothers who are about to go on the trip of a lifetime, a newly reopened theme park called Jurassic World.  And it is on the same property of the old Jurassic Park, where a power failure allowed the dinosaurs in the park to roam freely, thus closing the park.  While it was a miracle that scientists could bring back dinosaurs from extinction, they knew the possibility of something going wrong.        But now, the park has been open for a while and they want something completely new; something...

Starring: Blake Lively, Michiel Huisman, Harrison Ford, and Ellen Burstyn Directed by: Lee Toland Krieger Screenplay by: Salvador Paskowitz, Allison Burnett, and J. Mills Goodloe      Wouldn't it be wonderful to live forever?  Based on this movie, probably not, especially if you're the only one who can live forever.      Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively) is born on January 1, 1908.  As a young woman, she is involved in an accident that changes her life.  She is immune to aging and becomes essentially immortal.  Fast forward over 80 years to the present day; her daughter, Flemming (Ellen Burstyn) is an old woman and Adaline still looks exactly the same.  Nobody can know her secret other than her daughter.  Her inability to age has made for an extraordinarily difficult life.  She must constantly be on the move and change her identity so people do not get suspicious.  It also is difficult for her to create close rela...

Starring: Jonah Hill, James Franco, and Felicity Jones Directed by: Rupert Goold Screenplay by: Rupert Goold Based on true events     A serious movie with Jonah Hill and James Franco?  Really?????  Yes really.     Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) is a reporter for the New York Times.   Or at least he was.  In a claim that he forged some of his reporting on an important story, he loses his job and becomes disgraced by the journalism community.  He goes to a cabin in Montana with his girlfriend Jill (Felicity Jones) and makes countless phone calls trying to find work, but of course, nobody trusts him anymore.    Meanwhile, there's another guy, Christian Longo (James Franco), accused of killing his wife and children, going around using Mike Finkel's identity.  When the real Mike Finkel finds out about this through another reporter, he simply has to find out why he's doing this.      After being found and arres...

Starring: Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, and Oscar Isaac Directed by: Alex Garland Screenplay by: Alex Garland     Like movies about artificial intelligence?  Like the philosophical debate over whether A.I. can be good or evil?  Don't want any of the action of Terminator ?  You've come to the right place.     Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) works for an internet search engine called Blue Book, the largest search engine in the world.  It's CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), lives in the middle of nowhere. Caleb has just won a contest to go to Nathan's home to spend an entire week with him.  So he's going to meet his boss.  That has to be making him nervous.     Once he arrives, he finds that Nathan lives alone, except with a female Japanese servant who does not speak.  But this house is not just a home; it's a research lab.  Nathan needs Caleb's help on his latest project.  Caleb is to be the human var...

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges, Dwayne Johnson, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Kurt Russell Directed by: James Wan Screenplay by: Chris Morgan     Most of the gang is back for the seventh installment of the Fast and the Furious movies.  Sadly, Paul Walker, one of the main characters, wasn't there to finish the movie once it had been started.     In the last installment, we met the villain, Owen Shaw.  Now that the team has taken him down, his "big bad brother" Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is out to take revenge on Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), and the rest of the crew along with everyone they care about.  Shaw is basically a ghost with special ops as a background, making him extremely difficult to find.  That's where Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) comes in.  As an agent for the U.S government, he's after Shaw as well, bu...

Starring: Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, and Amanda Seyfried Directed by: Noah Baumbach Screenplay by: Noah Baumbach     Josh (Ben Stiller) and Cornelia (Naomi Watts) are a middle-aged couple.  Cornelia has had some success in producing documentary films with her father who is a documentary filmmaker.  Josh is himself a documentary filmmaker, having difficulty attaining success.  He's been working on the same film for ten years and hasn't gotten anywhere with it.  He can't seem to be able to finish it.  Their friends are moving on with their lives in ways like having children and being successful in their jobs.  Josh and Cornelia don't seem to be going anywhere.     One day, they meet a younger couple, Jamie (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried).  These two younger people are basically hipsters, living life to the fullest they can while they're young.  Jamie has a passion for documentary film like Josh does,...

Starring: Will Smith and Margot Robbie Directed by: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa Screenplay by: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa     Like stories about con-men?  Well, here you go.     Nicky (Will Smith) is a con-artist.  He's good at getting people to trust him when he is not a man who should necessarily be trusted.  He can pickpocket a person without them even knowing they've been stolen from.  He can convince anyone of just about anything.  While preparing for a job in New Orleans during the Superbowl, he meets a woman named Jess (Margot Robbie).  Since there's lots of money to be made, she wants in.  After the job's been done and she knows the trade, they split for a long time.     A few years later, they reconnect unexpectedly as Nicky is in the midst of his latest plan.  He's working for a race car team, who has developed a formula to essentially guarantee themselves a win.  They hire him to sell a fak...

Starring: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Sean Bean, and Eddie Redmayne Directed by: Andy and Lana Wachowski Screenplay by: Andy and Lana Wachowski      From the creators of your favorite mind blowing trilogy that you can't stop referencing whenever you can, The Matrix, comes a brand new movie, you might just totally forget about.      Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) is a cleaning lady just trying to make a living.  When Caine Wise (Channing Tatum) comes along, everything changes.  She is thrust into a whole new world with a whole new understanding of who she really is.      The earth is part of an industry, led by the Abrasax family (from an entirely different planet of humans), which harvests worlds with intelligent life so humans can live essentially forever.  Balem Abrasax (Eddie Redmayne) is the heir to Earth, which means he can harvest it whenever he wants to.  Caine is aware of what the Abrasax family wants to do so it...

Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, and David Oyelowo Directed by: J.C. Chandor Screenplay by: J.C. Chandor    It's New York City, 1981.  The city is full of crime and a very dangerous place.  Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac), an immigrant businessman, is running a successful heating oil company.  He's about to close a deal that would allow him to be even more profitable by buying a waterfront shipping yard.  He needs more money before the sale is finalized, but when he needs the money most, something goes wrong.    People are starting to assault Morales's truck drivers and stealing the oil inside them.  Thugs are also coming to Morales's home and threatening him and his family.  Abel is worried about working too hard to find out who's doing it because his company is already so successful that he's caught the eye of the District Attorney's office.  His wife, Anna (Jessica Chastain) who comes from a mob family isn't afraid to ...

2014 was a good year for movies based on the lives of soldiers in the US military with remarkable lives.   Early on in the year, there was Lone Survivor starring Mark Wahlberg; a film that tells the story of Marcus Luttrell, a soldier in Afghanistan whose platoon was ambushed.   This film tells the story of Luttrell’s platoon and how he is the sole survivor from the attack.   At the end of the year, there were two films that I will focus on for this article, American Sniper starring Bradley Cooper and directed by Clint Eastwood, and Unbroken starring Jack O’Connell and directed by Angelina Jolie.   Both films portray soldier whom many people think of as heroes in their respective wars. American Sniper             American Sniper is the story of Chris Kyle, a Navy SEAL during the war in Iraq who served four tours there.   He became known as “the legend” among the Marines because of his record number of...