Gary Ross (1)

The movie spends nearly the first hour on what basically amounts to four different false starts that end up only doing set up work. Once that's finally done, however, the movie really shines, with impressively complex and honest characterisations and plotting for a children's film. The movie it is by the end deserves four stars, perhaps more, the movie it starts out as deserves three, perhaps less, so I'm meeting in the middle. And bonus points for an utterly amazingly star-studded voice show more cast. Macy and Weaver in particular positively sparkle here. show less

Pleasantville's cinematography and writing has made me want to rewatch this film several times in my life. Not only is it aesthetically interesting to watch with the color shifts between grey-scale to a vibrant world, but the subtle metaphors of the scenes and growth of the characters is really enjoyable and heartwarming to experience again and again.

Thieves rob the Met Gala.

2.5/4 (Okay).

I have to imagine making a good heist movie is a near impossible task. We go in expecting a twist, waiting for it and looking for it, and if it doesn't still somehow manage to surprise us, then the whole movie falls apart. And then there are heist movies like this, where the writers don't even seem to realize that the problem is there, or don't care. It has a great cast, and a fair amount of style, but the story is crap.

A dystopian government forces teenagers to fight to the death on TV.

I didn't love it, but they did a pretty good job. It's a damn hard book to adapt; a strictly faithful film would be at least three hours long and R-rated. Rather than rushing and forcing everything into the movie Harry Potter style, they chose their priorities and just did what they had time for. What made the cut is plot, a few nice science fiction ideas, and overarching themes of the series. What did not make the cut are show more most of the character relationships, and any of the trauma. But that's okay; there'll be plenty of time for character development in part 2, and for trauma in part 3.

Concept: A
Story: A
Characters: C
Dialog: B
Pacing: B
Cinematography: D
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: C

Enjoyment: A

GPA: 2.9/4 show less