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| They saved the best until last in the final Hunger Games instalment |
Allan Hunter looks at the notable films in cinemas this weekend.
The Hunger Games has always felt like the War And Peace of dystopian fantasy.
The epic saga of strife, sacrifice and star-crossed lovers finally concludes with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.
In many respects they have kept the best for last.
If you haven’t seen any of the previous three Hunger Games films, then there are no concessions for latecomers, no synopsis of events thus far or flashbacks to key moments.
Instead we launch straight into warrior Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) licking her wounds and torn between two lovers.
Gale (Liam Hemsworth) is determined to overthrow the oppressive regime of President Snow (Donald Sutherland) with all guns blazing and he’s more than prepared to pay the price in innocent lives if that’s what it takes.
However Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) appears to have parted company with his sanity and has been brainwashed into believing his true enemy is Katniss.
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| Jennifer Lawrence returns for the final instalment in the franchise |
Katniss has her sights set on killing Snow and most of the film is a do-or-die mission to the heart of Panem with Katniss and her team haring through a booby-trapped city in search of a final showdown.
Mockingjay – Part 2 feels a little more thoughtful and sombre than your average blockbuster.
Leading characters are killed along the way and everyone has to live with the consequences of their actions.
Katniss is a mass murderer by now and carries the responsibility for all those deaths.
Can the assassination of Snow finally put an end to all that bloodshed?
In its tale of dictators, bombing raids and civilian casualties it is hard not to feel echoes of events in Syria or the killings on the streets of Paris running through this fantasy.
It may be fiction but everyday reality keeps straying into your experience of the film.
The serious tone is noticeable as series regulars Stanley Tucci, as smarmy television host Caesar Flickerman, and Elizabeth Banks, as garish clotheshorse Effie Trinket, make only minor appearances.
Their roles as colourful garnish in the earlier films is now superfluous as the mood turns grim and determined and the focus is now very much on Katniss and her nemesis Snow.
Mockingjay – Part 2 boasts some tense, well-staged action scenes as the rebels encounter ingenious booby traps called pods and battle scary monsters lurking in the underground tunnels.
There is also a sense of poignancy as Katniss reflects on the people she has loved and lost and whether the endless cycle of death and revenge is ever worth so many lives.
A starry cast, from Julianne Moore to Woody Harrelson, provides reliable support and Donald Sutherland is on fine form as the sneering, treacherous Snow.
However the film and the entire series inevitably belong to Jennifer Lawrence, who has made Katniss a warrior queen in the mould of Boudica and a rebel leader with the charisma of Joan of Arc.
Her strength of character and emotional depths have made Katniss the most intriguing of heroines and ensured that The Hunger Games has been a grand and exciting journey.
The final chapter is something that fans will definitely not want to miss.
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| Steven McQueen at le Mans |
At the height of his fame in the 1960s Steve McQueen was obsessed with making the “ultimate racing picture”.
His plan was to weave a dramatic story around the screeching tyres and superhuman endurance required for the 24-hour race at Le Mans.
This workmanlike documentary uses footage from the original shoot and audio interviews with McQueen to show how it all went pear-shaped.
The fact that they never had a finished script was one factor and insurers who refused to let him compete was another.
Interesting insights into the chaotic film-making process are eclipsed by an eye-opening portrait of McQueen as a womanising cad and a far-from-likeable human being.
A documentary that removes the shine from McQueen’s super-cool image.
3/5
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| My Nazi Legacy: A very personal reflection of the legacy of war |
History is very much in the eye of the beholder in My Nazi Legacy, a troubling documentary in which two men carry the burden of the sins committed by their fathers.
Niklas Frank and Horst von Wächter were born in 1939 and are both the sons of men who held prominent positions in the Nazi party.
Family albums and home movies give a sense of their innocent, idyllic childhoods far from the horrors unleashed on the world.
Human rights lawyer Philippe Sands lost many family members in the Holocaust and has come to know two men who couldn’t be further apart in their attitudes to the past.
Niklas despises his father Hans who was tried and hanged at Nuremberg.
Horst defends his father Otto and refuses to accept what happened despite evidence of his responsibility for mass murder.
The result is a very personal reflection on the legacy of war.
4/5
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| A Mexican film with a small budget but a big heart |
Güeros may have a tiny budget but it has a big heart.
This Mexican road movie is overlong but full of engaging touches.
Teenager Tomas (Sebastián Aguirre) is sent to live with his older brother Fede (Tenoch Huerta) in Mexico City.
It is the 1990s and student revolution is in the air and on the streets although not so much for Fede and his friend Santos (Leonardo Ortizgris) who would rather stay at home and waste their days.
However, Tomas persuades them to leave their dingy apartment and join him in a quest to find Epigmenio Cruz (Alfonso Charpener), a folk singer famous for having “once made Bob Dylan cry” and their trip is marked by diversions, distractions and a touch of romance.
4/5
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| More than a hint of Rocky in this boxing documentary |
There is more than a hint of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky in Mr Calzaghe, a documentary saluting the triumphs of boxing champion Joe Calzaghe that places a lot of its emphasis on the relationship with his father and trainer Enzo.
Fight fans will savour the footage of Calzaghe’s rousing victories and commentary from such unlikely fans as Michael J Fox but the real knockout in this sentimental tribute is the depth of that father/son bond.
3/5
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