The Hunger Games

I was a little bit apprehensive about watching this movie because I don't have anywhere near the mentality or tastes of a teenage girl – but a friend of mine said he read the books and watched the movie, and thought it was pretty decent. I have to agree with him. The movie was interesting and well made. I like the fact that the movie was based on a book and therefore, I believe the development of the characters was very well done. By the time we actually got to the action-packed "hunger games" part of the movie, I believed in the characters and was rooting for the young girl to survive. Some parts were a bit hokey and sophomorish, but all-in-all a good story, decent acting, and some exciting action. I also found it interesting that the story revolved around a futuristic reality show – nice touch! Especially since these days we are inundated with reality shows of all types and flavors. Worth the effort to rent.

Shaolin

Some decent kung fu action, but the story is totally depressing! This 2011, Chinese kung fu film has English subtitles and all the usual exceptional Chinese martial arts action. It is available on Netflix. Unfortunately, the story is so full of evil, greed, blind ambition, betrayal, revenge, and sadness that it is hard to watch. "Spoiler alert" – everyone dies at the end! Jackie Chan has a small part in the movie as the Shaolin monastery's cook. He has one good fight scene where he tells the bad guys, "I don't know kung fu" but then proceeds to whip some ass with his cooking skills and strength. If you are a Jackie fan, then it's probably worth it just to fast forward to this fight scene and watch it a couple of times – skip the rest of the movie. I like a good kung fu movie made in China, but I prefer the more mystical or romantic storyline. Only recommended for hard-core kung fu fans.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Delightful! I usually don't watch romantic movies, unless I'm forced to by my lovely wife. But, this movie intrigued me because of its unique story. A billionaire Sheik from Yemen enlists the help of an ambitious young British woman financial consultant and an introverted British bureaucrat-scientist working for the fisheries department, to make his dream of being able to fish for salmon in the mountains of Yemen a reality. The writing is superb. The dialogue is engaging. The character development is what makes this movie worth watching – of course we know that the two very different British characters will eventually fall in love. But, that doesn't matter. There is some silliness with British politics and terrorism, but that can be overlooked and easily dismissed as I was drawn into the lives of the three main characters and their earnest attempt to make the project a reality. I recommend this movie for a quiet night alone with your "special someone." It's nice to have a light and uncomplicated movie to watch for a change.

Big Miracle

A decent family movie with a strong environmental theme – save the whales! However, due to the poor production quality, acting, and writing, this is probably only enjoyable for children under the age of 14 years. As an adult, I found it quite corny – the bad guys are overly bad, the environmentalists played by Drew Barrymore is poorly characterized, the Native Americans are stereotypical, and the silly/comedy relief is sophomoric. This movie tried to be Disney-like, but failed. This is quite unfortunate, because it is based on a true story. A family of grey whales get stuck in the Arctic ice, and a whole town rallies to save them. It's really a inspirational story, but unfortunately the writing was just too shallow to make it interesting for an adult viewer. I would watch this with my under 14-year-old children though, – by myself, I found it tiresome.

J Edgar

Boring, but well made and interesting from a historical and biographical perspective. Kudos to Clint Eastwood for taking on such a tough project. Good job by Leonardo DiCaprio, though he was not particularly convincing as an aging J Edgar Hoover. I didn't really know that much about Mister Hoover, so watching the movie gave me some historical perspective about his life and the early years of the FBI. I assume a lot of it was based on fact. I wonder if Clint Eastwood deliberately played down the homosexuality and cross-dressing part of Hoover's life. I guess I'd have to read the book, which I don't think I will. All in all Hoover didn't seem like that interesting of a person – hen pecked and overwhelmed by his mother, a perfectionist, analytical to a fault, power-hungry, ambitious, and paranoid. Well, maybe he was interesting? If he was, it didn't come across that much in the movie. I was disappointed.