The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2015)

This really does work best when seen immediately after Part One.  Otherwise, you lose all of the momentum and escalation of the previous three.  It's still depressing as all get out but it stays remarkably true to the books and that's no small thing.  Happy Easter, everybody.  Originally posted 26 Nov 15.  Happy Thanksgiving!

  I saw this on Saturday.  It was supposed to go up last Monday but I wasn't able to post it.  Let's just say this has been a rough month for me at work.

Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is more determined than ever to take down President Snow (Donald Sutherland) after what he did to Peeta (Josh Hutcherson).  But she finds her role in the rebellion increasingly marginalized by President Coin (Julianne Moore).  Undaunted, she sneaks out to the front lines anyway, intending to get to Snow's palace and assassinate him herself.  Things never quite turn out the way they are intended, however, especially in war.

I have to say, I was a little disappointed by this film.  The pacing seemed off, there were a lot of stop-and-go moments, and it just seemed like it lost a lot of momentum from Part 1.  There were a few really nice moments, though.  Joanna (Jena Malone) was a standout character for me.  The mutt attack in the sewer could have been taken straight from a horror movie.  Donald Sutherland was super villainous and sickly-sweet about it.  It was enough to make me okay with having paid for a ticket, but I still wished it could have been more polished.