Patina Miller, Liam Hemsworth, Mahershala Ali, Jennifer Lawrence, and Elden Henson in ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1’ (Photo Credit: Murray Close)
It’s probably safe to say that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is one of the more anticipated movies of the year. I haven’t read the books yet and wasn’t a big fan of the first one (because I prefer Battle Royale and eschew badly used shaky cam) but the second installment was a marked improvement as director Francis Lawrence took over the helm and the bigger context of this cinematic world was provided. As such, I wasn’t anxiously counting down the days to this film’s release but I was cautiously optimistic that it would be a good movie.
Of course, the first thing standing in the way of enjoying the film is that the franchise opted for the predictable cash grab and split the final book into two movies. While I openly admit a favorable bias for all things Harry Potter, which seems to have started this craze, at least with The Deathly Hallows there was a lot of story to get through if they were going to get it right and rather than a four-plus hour movie, splitting it into two made sense. Twilight could have summed up Breaking Dawn – Part 1 in a five minute narrated montage. I have no idea if the Divergent series warrants this treatment (not that my opinion matters) but after watching Mockingjay – Part 1, I wish they would have just made one three hour movie.
It’s not that the 123 minute runtime is exorbitant by itself but much of the movie felt padded and dragged out, with certain obvious character motivations taking far too long for the characters to grasp on-screen. There are also a few scenes that feel like they were added outside of the source material in order to create drama/action for the sake of pacing out the movie. Of course, maybe those scenes are in the book (which of course I haven’t read yet since the movies aren’t all finished) but they seem tacked on here.
Then there’s the elephant in the room that’s cursed the franchise from the start: the love triangle of Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), Gale (Liam Hemsworth), and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). I don’t get it. And to quote an unrelated but favored movie character, “I may not be a smart man … but I know what love is.” Even with the abominable Twilight movies, Kristen Stewart’s character is at least picking between two very different people (even putting aside the whole werewolf/vampire angle). With The Hunger Games, the biggest difference between the two suitors vying for Katniss’ attention is their height. They’re both brave and selfless, and share the character fault of wanting a woman who just strings them along and has the emotive capacity of an Apple IIe computer. It’s almost a reverse stereotype where in this case it’s the men who are attracted to a woman who doesn’t say much, mistaking that silence for some form of profundity.
That aside, I was fine with the movie (what a transitional sentence!). The most effective scenes involve Philip Seymour Hoffman, which adds a bittersweet element to the affair. The inclusion of Julianne Moore is a little odd, and although I assume the hair dye job going on is from the books, it just makes her look strange, and almost alien. And once again, the true heart of the movie derives from Elizabeth Banks … which I’m not sure is such a good thing. This should be all about joining Katniss on her ride through this crazy world but because of how Lawrence plays the character, what should be construed as stoic comes off as a bit bland more often than not. At least Banks’ character wears her heart on her sleeve.
Anywho, I’m sure none of what I said matters much. If you’re a fan, you’re going to see this movie. And despite my reservations and issues, I enjoyed it well enough. I think the second film stands as the best of the three so far and would rather have cut an hour of this movie to just get to the end of it all but I can’t say I was climbing the walls to leave the theater. Fans should be pleased (assuming it didn’t stray from the book too much) and we’ll just have to see if stretching things out as they have will pay off when the final film comes out next year. At least this installment features the first instance of making it seem like one of the characters is actually hungry, so there’s that … for whatever it’s worth.
GRADE: C+
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material.
Oscar, Tony, Emmy, and Grammy award-winner Mike Nichols passed away at the age of 83 on November 19, 2014 and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will be honoring and celebrating his life with a special tribute on December 6th. TCM will air his Oscar nominated work Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and The Graduate, and they’ll also be screening 1971’s Carnal Knowledge.
The tribute schedule is as follows:
Saturday, Dec. 6th
8pm ET Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) – starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sandy Dennis and George Segal
10:30pm ET The Graduate (1967) – starring Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, Murray Hamilton, William Daniels and Elizabeth Wilson
12:30am ET Carnal Knowledge (1971) – starring Jack Nicholson, Candice Bergen, Art Gargfunkel, Ann-Margret, Rita Moreno and Carol Kane
Georgina Haig in ‘The Mule’ (Photo Courtesy of XLrator Media)
Georgina Haig built on the fan following she developed as a part of the sci-fi series Fringe by playing Elsa from Frozen on the fourth season of Once Upon a Time. Haig’s a welcome addition to this season of Once Upon a Time, however prior to taking on the job of bringing the popular animated character who inspired millions of Halloween costumes to life in Once, Haig worked on the Australian independent film, The Mule.
The Mule‘s one of those films you absolutely shouldn’t decide if you want to see simply by reading the synopsis. While the couple of sentences describing the plot do set things up, the tone of the film doesn’t come across from reading a few lines. The Mule‘s smartly written with a terrific cast, and it’s not at all what you expect it to be.
The Plot: “It’s 1983. A naive man with lethal narcotics hidden in his stomach is detained by Australian Federal Police. Alone and afraid, ‘the Mule’ makes a desperate choice; to defy his bodily functions and withhold the evidence…literally. And by doing so becomes a “human time-bomb,” dragging cops, criminals, lawyers, and his mother into his impossible escapade. Inspired by true events.”
The Mule will be available digitally and in limited theatrical release on November 21, 2014.
Georgina Haig Exclusive Interview
I really enjoyed The Mule, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it after just reading the synopsis which doesn’t let on how really twisted and humorous the film actually is. How did you feel about the reading the synopsis the first time?
Georgina Haig: “Well, I read the synopsis and was actually intrigued. I’m really into black comedy and genre stuff. Anyways, I read the synopsis and thought, ‘Oh, that sounds crazy but great.’ Then I read the script and I just thought it was done so well. Yes, it’s a difficult thing to watch and to experience the character going through – trying not to go to the toilet for 10 days – but they gave it such a great backdrop. You know, 1983, the America’s Cup, which is the yacht race. Also, all the crime stuff going on, and the family drama on top of it. I just thought they told the story in such a way that made it really accessible, and it was also funny so it was a lot to deal with. This is going to be a lot for people, but there’s going to be enough releases [in the film] for people to be able to deal with. It just seems like a great, original, idea to me. I was really intrigued by it.”
It’s definitely not something we see every day.
Georgina Haig: “No, no. I just hope, because you say that you read the synopsis and you didn’t know if you’d like the film, I hope people who feel that take a chance on it, you know? Because, yeah, it really will surprise people, I think.”
It’s one my favorite films I’ve seen this year because it did take me by surprise, and that doesn’t happen very often. What was it like for you working opposite writer/director/actor Angus Sampson?
Georgina Haig: “Yeah, Writer-Director-Producer. Angus was on top of everything. It was so good. Leigh [Whannell] was there, obviously, and Tony Mahony, he was directing as well. He would do a lot of the technical side of things, and then Angus would often give performance notes and stuff. It was great because he and Leigh wrote it, with a third writer as well, and they knew exactly what they wanted. They couldn’t be more specific and, as an actor, that’s really helpful. You just feel in really safe hands, because there’s such a strong vision driving it. I really enjoyed working that way. And also, if something needs to be changed, they just change it. No huge processing meeting to play around with stuff. There’s a malleability to the script. It’s definitely my way of working, and it was great.”
Some writer/directors are really precious with their words and don’t want the actor to be able to collaborate quite so much. But you didn’t find that with Angus?
Georgina Haig: “Well, I found that if there was something I was questioning, he could usually give me a pretty good reason why it shouldn’t be changed or why it should be; I think they were sort of precious about it, because it was their vision, but I think they were good at expressing why they wanted to keep it a certain way. Then, some things that needed to be changed, they did, so they were able to do that too. I agree, that is often the case.
I also think that to make something truly original, you do need an almost dogmatic approach creatively from a couple of people who really put their foot down and say, ‘No, this is how it’s going to be.’ Otherwise, things can get watered down too.”
Then it becomes filmmaking by teamwork, which sometimes doesn’t work.
Georgina Haig: “Right, right, right. Exactly. Yeah, I agree.”
Does it amaze you how popular The Mule‘s trailer has been?
Georgina Haig: “Yes, it’s amazed all of us. It’s the third most viewed trailer in the U.S. right now. It’s like Exodus: Gods and Kings and then The Mule, our little movie. It’s brilliant. I just hope that that momentum works for the film and that people are intrigued enough to download and watch the whole thing. I really believe in it and I just really want it to find an audience. I just really hope that people take a chance.”
Did you develop a backstory for Jasmine?
Georgina Haig: “Yes. Her backstory is that she was a private school girl, grew up in a very privileged way, and could have done anything with her law career, but decided to do Legal Aid because she felt like she could make a difference. I think what she can’t admit to herself is that she does want a bit more prestige than she’s letting on. Also, I think she’s been very frustrated in that role and that she feels like she hasn’t been making as much of a difference as she thought she would. It’s been really hard work for her to break into so I think when she sees the opportunity to stick it to misogynistic cops, and at the same time get a bit of publicity for this cause and for herself, she goes, ‘Yeah, why not?’
I think what’s interesting about her character is that they did make her a bit more self-serving than they could have, which was great, because it was real, and it made her a bit more interesting I think. She wanted to win. She was willing to put Ray (Angus Sampson) through what he needed to go through to get there, which was good.”
Did you know from your first reading of the script exactly how you were going to approach her or did she evolve in your mind?
Georgina Haig: “When I read it, I got her straight away. I think I could base her on quite a few people I know and I saw a lot of similarities to myself as well in her. Yeah, I could really picture it from the start.
It’s really interesting too, when you see a final product, the way filmmaking can manipulate your own performance, if you know what I mean? I think the scene where I’m smoking the joint in the car, they changed the context of that a little bit. They put in the ‘Winning is Everything’ tape that she’s listening to, which wasn’t there originally. That’s what works so well, because it works with the theme, but at the time it was just her taking a moment to herself. Then, by putting that tape on, they made her goal stronger, that she wants to win. I was interested to see the way that they use editing and sound to change the performance to what they needed.”
Would you have changed your performance at all for that particular scene had you known that’s how they would edit it?
Georgina Haig: “Probably, but it’s kind of good that I didn’t because they got what they wanted the way I did it. I kind of liked the simplicity of it. I was like, ‘Oh, cool.'”
Did any of the people you sort of based her on know that they helped to inspire how you played the character?
Georgina Haig: [Laughing] “No.”
That’s probably a good thing, right?
Georgina Haig: “Probably. I grew up in a similar world; I went to a private school. My family…they didn’t have a lot of money but they managed to put me through a private school and so I’ve been around a lot of people with similar aspirations, I think. I went to Melbourne University for a little while in Melbourne, which is very prestigious uni, and yeah, had a lot of friends in law, or whatever profession. I met a lot of ambitious people. I myself am quite ambitious so I definitely had lots to draw on. But also there’s a way of talking. A lot of the film’s about class as well and the way she talked is quite different than the way Jeff Morrell talked. That accent I’d grown up listening to. I knew what it sounded like, and that was good.”
Hot off this film and Once Upon a Time, are you seeing a lot of really interesting scripts come your way?
Georgina Haig: “Yeah, there’s a lot. There’s been lots of interesting stuff. I’ve been playing catch up a little bit, because I was doing Elsa and there wasn’t time to audition, so now I’m playing catch up. I’m not really sure what’s next at this point, but hopefully something interesting.”
AMC’s Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul has nabbed a two-night premiere. Episode one will air on Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT and episode two will follow on Monday, February 9th. After the two-night event, Better Call Saul will air on Mondays at 10pm for the rest of the season.
The first season will be made up of 10 episodes while season two has an expanded order of 13 episodes.
The Plot:
This highly-anticipated prequel to Breaking Bad is set six years before Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) became Walter White’s lawyer. Known then as Jimmy McGill, he was a small-time lawyer, searching for his destiny and hustling to make ends meet. The series will track Jimmy’s evolution into Saul, Albuquerque’s top criminal (criminal) lawyer.
Working alongside, and often against, Jimmy is another familiar face from Breaking Bad: “fixer” Mike Erhmantraut (Jonathan Banks). The series also stars Michael McKean as Chuck McGill, Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler, Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin, and Michael Mando as Nacho Varga.
VH1’s adding another scripted series to its lineup, scheduling Hindsight to premiere on January 7, 2015 at 10pm ET/PT. For fans of the ’90s, the new show will bring the decade to life with Laura Ramsey and Sarah Goldberg in starring roles.
The series was created by Jane By Design‘s Emily Fox who executive produces along with John A. Norris, Carl Beverly, Sarah Timberman, Maggie Malina, Alexander A. Motlagh, Susan Levison, and Jill Holmes.
“Sarah and I, along with our partners Emily and Johnny, are so excited to be in business with Susan Levison and all the talented people at VH1,” said Carl Beverly. “Especially on a series that plows such thematically fertile ground – if we could go back in time, with all the advantages of hindsight, what would we do differently and how would the shape and arc of our lives change? We can’t think of a better home than VH1 to explore such a fun, provocative and timeless question.”
The Hindsight Plot [Courtesy of VH1]:
In the series premiere, we meet Becca (Laura Ramsey) on the eve of her second wedding. It all seems perfect this time around, but she is still plagued by doubt. What if she could fix everything, and make the ‘right’ choices this time? Becca finds herself thinking about her former best friend Lolly (Sarah Goldberg), with whom she had a falling out many years ago. If only she could talk to her once again…
Suddenly, after a freakish elevator ride, Becca gets the opportunity to do just that as she wakes up in New York City on the morning of her first wedding day in 1995. She’s about to marry Sean (Craig Horner), a bad-boy artist who is all wrong for her – and she knows her first move must be to reconnect with Lolly to re-live that day. Can she ‘make it right’ by living her life all over while re-adapting to life in New York City in the 90’s – a time of smoking in bars, carrying pagers, having an AOL email address? Becca will soon discover there’s no sure-fire way to make the right choices in life – even knowing everything she thinks she knows now.
James Franco on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ (Photo by Lloyd Bishop / NBC)
James Franco, Martin Freeman, and Amy Adams will be hosting the final three Saturday Night Live shows of 2014 as just announced by NBC. James Franco will be handling the hosting gig for his third time when he takes the stage on December 6th. Franco, who has The Interview coming to theaters on Christmas, will be joined by Nicki Minaj as the episode’s musical guest. Minaj’s appearance will be her second on the late-night variety show.
Saturday Night Live newbie Martin Freeman will make his hosting debut on the December 13th episode. Freeman will soon be seen in the final entry in the Hobbit saga, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. The musical guest for Dec. 13th will be another SNL newbie, Charli XCX.
And finishing up the year will be Oscar nominee Amy Adams who stars opposite Christoph Waltz in Big Eyes, opening in theaters on December 25th. Adams will be joined by boy band One Direction who’ll be making their third appearance as musical guests.
Relativity Studios is greeting 2015 with the release of The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death because nothing says Happy New Year better than a creepy ghost story. Coming to theaters on January 2, 2015, the sequel to the 2012 horror hit starring Daniel Radcliffe is directed by Tom Harper and features a new cast led by Phoebe Fox, Jeremy Irvine and Helen McCrory.
The Plot:
During the London bombings of World War II, school teachers Eve Parkins (Phoebe Fox) and Jean Hogg (Helen McCrory) lead a group of children in evacuation to Crythin Gifford, a remote village outside of the city. When the group takes up residence at the Eel Marsh House, 40 years after Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) investigated the first haunting, Eve soon realizes they are not alone. The longer they stay in the house, the more the awful past of the residence unravels itself and the evil spirit that lurks around them threatens the well-being of the children. With the help of a pilot (Jeremy Irvine), Eve does all that she can to protect the children and discover the truth behind the Woman in Black.
Grammy Award nominated singer/songwriter KT Tunstall performs three new songs in the animated family-friendly film Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast. Tunstall sings “Float” and “1000 Years” by Bleu and “Strange Sight” by Rob Cantor in the upcoming March 2015 release directed by Steve Loter and featuring the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Mae Whitman, Rosario Dawson, Lucy Liu, Raven-Symoné, Megan Hilty, Pamela Adlon and Anjelica Huston.
“KT is a celebrated songwriter and musician,” said director Loter. “She reminds me of Fawn in a way with her big heart and this amazing voice that has a little bit of edge and a tremendous amount of appeal.”
“It’s a real action-adventure movie,” explained Tunstall. “The characters are so cool. I was over the moon to take part. Disney Animation has such an incredible heritage of work, spanning decades, and it’s really special to be part of that.”
“Float” is the theme song for the movie’s central character, Fawn the fairy. “It’s fantastic how she spends her days looking after all the animals around Pixie Hollow,” offered Tunstall. “The song says, ‘I’ll just float.’ She doesn’t have to have a reason, she just really loves having a pair of wings, so she’s going out for a fly, getting into trouble and mischief.”
The Plot:
The new story explores an ancient myth of a fabled creature whose distant roar sparks the curiosity of Tinker Bell’s good friend Fawn (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin), an animal fairy who’s not afraid to break the rules to help an animal in need. But this animal—massive and strange with glowing green eyes—is not really welcome in Pixie Hollow, and the scout fairies are determined to capture the mysterious beast before it destroys their home. Fawn, who sees a tender heart beneath his gruff exterior, must convince Tink (voice of Mae Whitman) and the girls to risk everything to rescue the NeverBeast before time runs out.
The first trailer for Pitch Perfect 2 kicks off with “Cups” and then gets wild and crazy as the Barden Bellas get set to take on the world in the a cappella World Championship. The sequel’s directed by returning cast member Elizabeth Banks and includes Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, Ester Dean, Hana Mae Lee, Hailee Steinfeld, John Michael Higgins, and Katey Sagal.
Pitch Perfect 2 opens in theaters on May 15, 2015.
Lee Jones stars in ‘The Bastard Executioner’ (Photo credit: Ollie Upton / FX)
Filming is expected to begin early next year in Wales on The Bastard Executioner, Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter’s next project for FX. Sons of Anarchy will be ending its seven-season run in early December and Sutter’s set to get into production soon after on the new drama series which will have nothing to do with outlaw bikers.
The Bastard Executioner will reunite Sutter with Paris Barclay who served as an executive producer and director on SoA. Barclay’s confirmed to direct The Bastard Executioner pilot and serve as an executive producer on the series. Sutter created the series, is writing the pilot, and is also executive producing.
During a conference call in support of the final season of Sons of Anarchy, Sutter’s wife/SoA star Katey Sagal also confirmed she’ll have a role in the new series. “I’m going to be in it. We don’t know in what capacity yet, because he’s now working on it, but that is where we’re going, yes,” said Sagal. “I will definitely be involved in it.”
The Bastard Executioner Plot:
The Bastard Executioner is a period drama that tells the story of a warrior knight in King Edward II’s charge who is broken by the ravages of war and vows to lay down his sword. But when that violence finds him again he is forced to pick up the bloodiest sword of all.
