Tag Archives: Adventure

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

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Director Francis Lawrence’s “Catching Fire” is set directly after the events of the first serviceable installment of “The Hunger Games,” and sadly Katniss has not emerged victorious. After her attempt to end her life with Peeta, incapable of fighting to the death, the pair became celebrities. Rather than be wounded by their violation of the rules of the Hunger games, the Capital took advantage of this moment. Katniss and Peeta are now a celebrity couple and the world wide sensation, and the capital has done everything they can to exploit this opportunity. Katniss and Peeta started a revolution when they agreed to a suicide pact, and now they have to once again maintain their image.

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The Borrower Arrietty (Kari-gurashi no Arietti) (2012)

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I can understand why Disney loves Studio Ghibli so much. Many of their epic films revolve around death and lack of parental units in the lives of youngsters, and Hayao Miyazaki quite often depicts a world where children are either without a mother and father, or are at risk of losing their mother and father. Like many of Studio Ghibli’s animated works, there’s an entirely vast and amazing world that many never explore unless they’re given that privilege.

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Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (Criterion Collection) (1962)

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If you’re like me, you’re a fan of “Zatoichi” and know all too well how expensive the movie series can be to purchase. Zatoichi garners almost thirty films in his movie series, two of which are released separately. The first twenty five are, of course, often released in box set form and are sold at terribly expensive prices, and immediately go out of print. If you want to collect all of the movies individually online through a purchase, good luck finding an online seller that won’t charge an arm and a leg. Back in the early aughts I attempted to buy as many “Zatoichi” films as I could, and only ended up finding four. I never could bear to buy the rare box sets at almost five hundred bucks. Thankfully, Criterion comes to the rescue, offering a deluxe box set of one of my favorite action movie series of all time, “Zatoichi.”

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The Hunger Games (2012)

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I guess at the end of the day, you could find worse entertainment than “The Hunger Games.” Most of the concept has been nothing but hype that leads in to narrative that’s entertaining in its own right, but is nowhere near being a masterpiece. I wouldn’t even call it a great movie, when pressed. It’s been touted as violent and disturbing for a PG-13 film, but when the centerpiece of the film involving teens and preteens slaughtering one another at the start of the Hunger Games approaches, it’s all so tame. It’s off-screen blood splatter, and suggestive brutality, all softened by a dizzying shaky cam that renders it impossible to make any of the chaos coherent for the viewer.

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Puppet Master 5: The Final Chapter (1994)

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“The Final Chapter” of the Puppet Master series isn’t the final Puppet Master movie, but it’s definitely the final installment of the true series for me. I consider the rest of the installments nothing but filler and greatest hit clip compilations. In the first two films, we watched the evil puppets and their master Toulon wreak havoc, part three was the origin of how Toulon became evil and how the puppets were once capable of good, and the final two installments are Toulon and his puppets redeeming themselves by saving the world from interdimensional demons.

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Man of Steel (2013) [DVD/Blu-Ray]

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While I’m often opposed to re-inventing characters, director Zack Snyder alters the story of Superman, not just for the sake of a new audience, but for dramatic benefit. The origin of Superman present in “Man of Steel” is a compelling and often gut-wrenching tale, followed by a wonderful glimpse at the introduction of Superman to a world in need of a savior. Director Zack Snyder hones much of the awe and grit from “Watchmen” and implants it in to “Man of Steel” where we’re given an exciting and often entertaining new Superman.

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Thor: The Dark World (2013)

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Thankfully, the follow up to 2011’s adaptation of Marvel’s “Thor” really seems to be intent on fixing the original film’s mistakes. While I really enjoyed the first installment, “Thor: The Dark World” is thankfully more fantasy based, and less a fish out of water action film, this time around. The writers have to work hard to bridge this tale in to the new “Avengers” movie, so we’re left experiencing the fall out from “The Avengers.” After Thor left to fight Loki, Thor has to face Jane who resents him never coming to ensure he was safe, and Loki is viciously angry toward Thor for imprisoning him.

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