cynanrees Reviews

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)

Sterile, Devoid Of Emotion - A Huge Letdown

[6/10 · 23 November 2015]

*** Spoilers for both Hunger Games and Twilight.*** Several of us saw this film together. We find it hard to believe it was made by the same people as Hunger Games 3.

The first 3 built and built into better and better films, and promised a moving finale, but instead we got a damp squib, from start to finish (that was apparent way before the weak ending). A full auditorium had nothing to react to.

The whole film was sedate, not carefully paced like HG3. Tension was minimal, even where they had chances to ramp it up (eg the tunnel sequence). The music was average. The whole extended ending was way too nice (maybe the fault of the author, not the director) - a twist similar to Twilight would've rescued it, but even that didn't materialise.

We didn't care what happened to the characters... we should have cared! Everyone deserved to see Snow get his comeuppance. Katniss spent the whole franchise protecting Primrose, and when she finally failed to do so, the film muddled the revelation. So many of the performances were phoned in - even Donald Sutherland, who was fabulously oily in HG1 to 3.

The Hobbit trilogy ended very poorly, and The Hunger Games was only somewhat better. That's not saying much.

Pepper Ann (1997–2000)

Superbly-written children's cartoon

[3 December 2002]

The animation for Pepper Ann looks pretty crude by today's standards, but it's consistent, has a definite charm, and is so cute.

What makes this series stand out is its writing and cast - and a great theme song and incidental music, too. It's jam-packed with witty and hilarious observations. The episodes stand up to repeated watching, and many of them are classics. The consistency of the storylines would put any Star Trek series to shame (and I'm a Trekkie).

The characters are great and impeccably well fleshed-out. For once, there's a healthy dose of excellent female characters, and indeed, most of the stories revolve around them. And they're brilliantly acted by a superb voice cast.

Kudos to the makers!

A Cold Night's Death (1973 TV Movie)

Hard-to-find gem.

[10/10 · 7 February 2002]

This is a little gem of a thriller that is all too hard to find anymore. A bit like Sleuth, with really only two actors in the whole film; and while it isn't in Sleuth's class, it does have a kick-ass ending of its own.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Do NOT let anyone spoil the storyline for you!

[10/10 · 24 November 1999]

This film will make you laugh, cry, jump and think.

It's an extraordinary film. It's so well crafted, so well made, so well conceived, it'll be a crime if it doesn't scoop the Oscars. Anyone who didn't like it simply didn't GET it.

Like that other phenomenal blockbuster of 1999, The Matrix, the intertwined story is presented in an unusual and intelligent manner. You do have to think about what you're watching. And you find yourself mentally reviewing the storyline the more you watch.

I wondered while watching it why so many people had gone to see such a cerebral film more than once - until the shattering denouement. Suddenly, the whole film falls into place and hits you like a sledgehammer. The boy's performance is inspirational, but with the realisation of that ending, it moves onto a whole other level.

If you want to hear a cinema audience go suddenly silent more than once, this is the film to see. I cannot recommend it enough for serious cinemagoers.