Lionsgate Films Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material. Running time: 123 minutes. Two stars out of four. Despite its action and revelations, its substantial political allegory and its strong performances from a tremendous cast, “The Hunger Games: Mockingkay — Part 1”...
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Reviews
What the Flick?! — The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1
The first half of the film adaptation of the third book in “The Hunger Games” trilogy feels like a stretched-out placeholder for the real finale. Jennifer Lawrence is strong as always, though, as Katniss, who’s now the reluctant symbol of hope for the revolution....
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The Maze Runner
In a rigidly structured dystopian future, one plucky teenager dares to think for himself, shake up the status quo and start a revolution. This is a story that has never been told before! Actually, “The Maze Runner” distinguishes itself from the many other YA adaptations we’ve seen lately with a...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — If I Stay
Chloe Grace Moretz’s grounded, naturalistic presence goes a long way toward making mushy material palatable. Director R.J. Cutler adapts the Gayle Forman young adult novel about a teenage girl trapped in an ethereal realm between life and death. Don’t even try to hold back the sobs. My RogerEbert.com review. Read...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — If I Stay
Alonso and I were both pleased to find that this was better than the average teen weepy. Chloe Grace Moretz stars as a cello prodigy trapped between life and death after a devastating car accident. Should she stay or should she go?...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — The Giver
Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep add heft to this derivative but well-made sci-fi thriller based on Lois Lowry’s Young Adult novel. In a rigid and seemingly perfect futuristic society, one plucky teenage boy dares to shake up the status quo. It’s beautifully shot but it goes off the rails in...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Divergent
Stop me if you think you’ve heard this one before: In a rigidly structured, dystopian future, one extraordinary teenage girl will emerge as either its savior or its destroyer. “Divergent,” based on the Veronica Roth novel, definitely follows a familiar, young-adult formula. But the performances — namely from stars Shailene...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Labor Day
He’s a hunky convicted killer on the run. She’s a lonely divorcee raising a 13-year-old son. Over one unusually hot holiday weekend, they fall in passionate, doomed love—and they bake a heavily metaphorical pie. Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet do their best with some laughably soapy material in Jason Reitman’s...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
What is it exactly that the magical cup does again? We’re hoping that the androgynous British half-angels will enlighten us in this convoluted YA fantasy adventure....
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
Percy Jackson and the Something Something of Something. Everything about this movie reminded me of how superior the Harry Potter series is....
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