MOVIE - Red Sparrow

R

3/2/18 Wide Release

Viewed Monday, 3/5/18 at Carlisle 8
IMBd:  6.7/10

RT Critic:  50    Audience:  56
Critic's Consensus:  Red Sparrow's tense, character-driven story -- elevated by outstanding work from Jennifer Lawrence -- help this topical spy thriller overcome its somewhat uneven narrative.

Cag:  5/I loved it

Directed by Francis Lawrence

Twentieth Century Fox

Based on the novel by Jason Matthews

Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons, Charlotte Rampling, and a short part played by Mary Louise Parker!

My comments: The review numbers weren't that great for this movie, but I found it very entertaining and exciting. I've not been enamored of Jennifer Lawrence lately, but I think she did a terrific, mesmerizing job.  And I think Joel Edgerton is really good. What an intriguing story, Russian bad guys vs. American good guys.....

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Dominika Egorova is many things. A devoted daughter determined to protect her mother at all costs. A prima ballerina whose ferocity has pushed her body and mind to the absolute limit. A master of seductive and manipulative combat. When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future. That is why she finds herself manipulated into becoming the newest recruit for Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people like her to use their bodies and minds as weapons. After enduring the perverse and sadistic training process, she emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow the program has ever produced. Dominika must now reconcile the person she was with the power she now commands, with her own life and everyone she cares about at risk, including an American CIA agent who tries to convince her he is the only person she can trust.

MOVIE - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

PG-13 (2:16)

Wide Release 11/20/15

Viewed at ElCon

RT Critic:  70  Audience:  70

Cag:  2/ It was okay, but just barely....more BLEH!

Directed by Francis Lawrence

Lionsgate Films

Based on the book by Suzanne Collins

Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Liam Hemsworth

My comments:  Total disappointment.  I hated the last book in this series, and didn't like the movie at all.  I'm still so disappointed in the casting pf Peta - don't like him at all, practically not charisma with Katniss at all.

MOVIE - American Hustle

R (2:09)

NY/LA Release 12/13/13; Wide Release 12/20/2013

Viewed 1/2/2014 with Laura in Carlisle

RT Critic: 92  Audience:  81

Cag:  5.5 Really loved it

Directed by David O. Russell

Film Studio

Actors: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence

My comments: No blood & guts, lots (and lots) of tongue-in-cheek humor, and brilliant acting all worked together to completely entertain me.  The story is brilliant, the characters are fun, and the 70s feel is almost always believable.  I wasn't sure throughout the movie that I should be chuckling to myself or if I was supposed to be completely caught up in the "seriousness" of what was going on - I guess I felt guilty being so entertained.  I'm glad I didn't really know about the plot other than what I'd seen in previews, because I was surprised and kept on my toes.  I was never "worried" about the outcome, and I think this made the movie all the more enjoyable.  I really loved it.

Fandango:  A fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation, American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), who along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that’s as dangerous as it is enchanting. Jeremy Renner is Carmine Polito, the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political operator caught between the con-artists and Feds. Irving’s unpredictable wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) could be the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down. Like David O. Russell’s previous films, American Hustle defies genre, hinging on raw emotion, and life and death stakes.

MOVIE: Hunger Games: Catching Fire

PG-13 (2:26)

Widely released 11/22/2013 

RT Critic: 89 Audience: 93
cag:  2 / it was okay 

Directed by Francis Lawrence

Lionsgate Films
based on the book by Suzanne Collins

Actors: Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Liam Hemsworth

Rotten Tomatoes:  THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.

My comments:  I really liked the Hunger Games book, and enjoyed the movie.  I did not like the story of Catching Fire very much, and that feeling didn't change with the viewing of this movie.  The story paralleled the book quite well, I think,  but it wasn't one of those two-plus hour movies that flew by.  The main characters were very watchable, very likable (Woody Harrelson was really good), the movie was good. Okay.  It dragged in places.  My opinion, only.  I will go see the third movie when it comes out, but I liked the third book even less than the second, so I'm not "dying" to see it....

MOVIE - Silver Linings Playbook

R (2:00)

Supposedly widely released 11/21/12 (but not here in Tucson!)

Viewed Monday, 1/7/13 at El Con

RT Critic: 91  Audience: 90

Cag:  Awesome/Terrific/More-than loved it *6*

Directed by David O. Russell

The Weinstein Company

Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker

I was totally entranced by this film.  Bradley Cooper was wonderful as a bipolar man trying his best to keep his life together without medication.  Robert DeNiro, the father who loved him (and ultimately had similar mental disabilities as his son), was so believable. Jacki Weaver, the mom, was right-on perfect (I though she was an aged Sally Struthers throughout the movie) Chris Tucker, who played the in-again, out-again friend, added just the right touch.  And Jennifer Lawrence just shined.  She nailed the part.  What a cast!  What a story!  Such fantastic acting!!!!  I loved it. And I'd watch it again and again.

MOVIE INFO

Life doesn't always go according to plan. Pat Solatano (Bradley Cooper) has lost everything -- his house, his job, and his wife. He now finds himself living back with his mother (Jacki Weaver) and father (Robert DeNiro) after spending eight months is a state institution on a plea bargain. Pat is determined to rebuild his life, remain positive and reunite with his wife, despite the challenging circumstances of their separation. All Pat's parents want is for him to get back on his feet-and to share their family's obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a mysterious girl with problems of her own, things get complicated. Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with his wife, but only if he'll do something very important for her in return. As their deal plays out, an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives