Movie: The Hunger Games, Mockingjay Part 2

*no spoilers alert!

I finished reading the Hunger Games trilogy in high school. By the time that this last movie hit theaters, I'd forgotten most plot details (and that there was even another movie). But I went to see it with a friend who hadn't read the series or seen the movies, so gave us both a refresher: thank you, Wikipedia.

We reserved seats ahead of time thinking there'd be an evening rush at 8 p.m. on the first Friday after its release. The theater wasn't as packed as we'd prepared for, but it was the first time I enjoyed all the new trailers (nothing too big to be excited about, just another Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper flick).

There's still opportunity of a post-Thanksgiving rush, but this movie performed the worst in the box office of the entire series (which is still impressive in comparison to other movies). But in comparison to Harry Potter and  the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which brought in more than $1 billion worldwide, this movie fell short of in-series and part two expectations.

While I'm referencing it, I'm a Potter fan and I can understand why that last book had to be split in two — that last one was the longest, with approximately 600+ pages. And I spent three whole days with my nose in it. The only reason I can see for Mockingjay to be split in two is for revenue, but it stretched the plot too thin.  I missed three minutes sprinting to and from the restroom, but a majority of the movie was action scenes or waiting for someone to die. I guess this might be representative of the book itself, but I saw it as further evidence that the book did not need to be split.

Unlike the previous movies, there wasn't a breakout scene, quote or gimmick that was ingrained into my brain when I left, save the blatant momentary foreshadowing at the end of the movie ("Mockingjay, may your aim be as true as your heart is pure." on-point delivery by Julianne Moore)

The star-crossed entourage (better than Taylor Swift's) who traveled with Katniss to the capital was decent. Finnick (sigh, favorite) and Annie can't help but remind me of Tonks and Remus (Harry Potter again, #sorrynotsorry) and the entire time, I was rooting for Cressida (SO B.A.) and empathizing with Pollux.  The movie was fun to watch, but come without expectations (try to, if you've seen the previous movies). The big parts of the plot are squished and the action is stretched, but the graphics and cast made it entertaining.

Here's to the end of your breakout series Jennifer Lawrence — may the odds be ever in your favor.

Movie: Jurassic World

(*no spoilers alert!)

The first dinosaur theme park may have been shut down (with good reason), but the movies just keep on coming. Breaking a world record with a $511.8 million debut in the box office, the fascination with dinosaurs doesn't stop. An inevitable looming presage contrasts the wildly successful attraction, Jurassic World, on Isla Neblar, where everything is running smoothly at the park with a predictable set of main character prototypes.

Trouble starts brewing in paradise with small mishaps, thanks to brothers Gray (Ty Simpkins) and Zach (Nick Robinson), and the climax starts to develop when the park's newest attraction (soon to be unveiled), the Indominus Rex (the foreshadowing of the name!), causes fatal confusion and everything turns from tranquil and peace to full-out chaos in only a few scenes.

Business Insider

A hugely devoted follower of Parks and Rec, I was unsure of what to expect from hilarious comic/actor, Chris Pratt, playing Owen (apparently he already proved his leading man acting chops in Guardians of the Galaxy). Without him, what would his leading lady, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) be? Probably dead. Actually, everyone would have probably died right away.

Not only was Owen impressive as the animal-whispering, ex-military man bada** who sticks to his good guy morals, Pratt's delivery of strength and acting saved the mostly unknown main cast from oblivion (and subsequent death as a not-so-important supporting character). For New Girl fans, you get your dose of Nick Miller-ish dorkiness (Jake Johnson).

(One of my favorite lines was when Claire, Gray, Zach and Owen are driving the car away from just barely escaping death and the boys ask:

"Can you stay with us forever?" [in a non-cheesy way]

"Of course, I'll always be here," says Aunt Claire who's now trying really hard to be a good aunt (probably because it feels like they're all going to die soon).

Then the boys look at her and say, "We meant Owen." ... "Yeah, definitely him." -- What a BA, right?! The guys just met him. But I guess he did just save their lives with his insane survival skills.)

Universal

One of the subplots leaves enough opening for a sequel (science never stops, does it?), but with an amount of investment that's forgettable and irrelevant enough. After watching the movie, I would most likely return to theatres to watch the next installment of Jurassic, but I wouldn't mind if there was an entirely new cast (with the exception of Pratt -- you can leave out the girl, though... their mini romance wasn't all that great). The movie also paid homage to the original Park in a few scenes (R.I.P. Ray Arnold)

With a predictably sky-high death count and a theme park that, despite the fact that it's inevitably doomed, Jurassic World was just as good as you would expect (from a sequel). With all the hype over the chaos that ensues and the problem that seems unfixable (thanks, science), the ending seems to fall a little flat and might leave viewers saying "that's it?!" (well, I did). However, the movie itself was entertaining, the plot was somewhat predictable but suspenseful nonetheless, and the CGI and set was visually flawless and enviable. Jurassic World is like the theme park itself: a fun ride that entertains, but leaves you wishing for just a little more.

Movie: "Pitch Perfect 2"

(*no spoilers alert!)

After loving Pitch Perfect more every time I watched it and rewatched it again, I had high expectations for Pitch Perfect 2. Back with the original cast (plus major addition Hailee Steinfield as Emily), the sequel delivered a hilariously entertaining musical show. The second (like most sequels) wasn't quite as "aca-awesome" as the first, but was worth a watch all the same.

The major problem for the "Barden Bellas" (fast-forward three years) is that they've just gotten kicked off their championship rounds after a little-more-than-slightly disastrous wardrobe malfunction by Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson). Introduce super intimidating German acapella group, "Das Sound Machine," headed by Birgitte Hjort Sørensen and Flula Borg. The Barden Bellas go on a quest to save the future of their team by winning it at the Worlds acapella competition.

Featuring successful YouTube-famous group, Pentatonix, along with Snoop Dogg, Pharrell, Christina Aguilera and others, the cast was plenty with musical talent and star-studded performances and cameos.

There were multiple subplots, including Fat Amy's love affair, Beca's (Anna Kendrick) new gig and the rekindling of confidence and sisterhood; but, the performance overall was essentially a show more than a movie. Lacking clear direction and focus, the musical performances were more packed, yet still impressive. But a new song, "Flashlight," sung by Hailee Steinfield (written by Sia and Sam Smith!) destined to be the breakout hit in an attempt to echo the wildly (and humbly) successful single, "Cups" (but, no surprise, fell short). Also, kudos to you, OPs of the song — not everyone forgot you existed (at least they knew at some point, right?).

The returning characters were classic, needless to say, but new member Emily lacked appeal and delivered little to the plot or to the humor. Like her original song, my guess is that she was also destined to be the perfectly (but actually humbly) planned likeable, girl-next-door-ish Taylor Swift gal pal character. I didn't feel it.

The musical numbers were more than plentiful. But, with so many choices, no one stood out as particularly memorable. The humor wasn't quite able to compensate for the lack of plot, but the cameos (sorry, no spoilers for you) were enough to distract us.

Of course, there were lots of jokes and jabs (don't worry, insults were fairly distributed — mostly) and genuine in-character lines and moments. Without subjecting the movie to comparison against its more successful original, it was a funny movie worth a watch. But it's impossible not to compare: I admit that I did have high hopes for the second (always hoping for that equally promising sequel, right?) and this pitch fell just a little flat.

Pitch Perfect 3 has gotten the go from Universal Pictures after the impressive box office successes of the series. Though no one's officially signed on yet, Rebel Wilson has expressed strong interest in returning (how could they have the movie without her, honestly?) and what would the third movie be without Anna Kendrick (more debatable than Wilson)? Hailee Steinfield will most likely return after her "character development" (you can't make us like her!) and Elizabeth Banks, director of both Pitch Perfects, has not confirmed her return.

Most of the cast is technically graduating, but it didn't stop three-time super senior Chloe (Brittany Snow) from returning for the second (who's actually ready to graduate and leave college, amirite?). With the possibility of Taylor Swift joining the cast in the third (she's friends with Hailee, Skyler Astin and Anna Van Camp, of course), there's no doubt the third will continue to be anything but successful.

Movie: "Everything Before Us"

I am a long-time, loyal fan of Wong Fu Productions, an independent film production company started by Wesley Chan, Ted Fu, and Philip Wang, three University of California (San Diego) grads. Their YouTube has garnered more than two million followers through short films (my favorites), music videos and vlogs. What I appreciate most about their videos are the very typical yet thought-provoking moments that shine through in planning, dialogue, videography and plots of each short. Their stories are playful and serious, and each portrayal of emotion is deep and meaningful. (One of my favorites is "The Last," starring Kinna Grannis and Harry Shum, Jr. -- confession: I cried.)

This past semester, I enrolled in Asian American Experience (a sociology/religion and culture class). This class was unique: for the first time, I was talking openly about culture in both an academic and personal way. It opened a forum for discussion of race and culture in various contexts, one of them being media. As a Multimedia Journalism major and Asian American student, WongFu was of great interest to me and I decided to include it in my studies concerning media and Asian Americans (some broad points of study included "yellowface," "whitewashing," underrepresentation and misrepresentation). 

"We’re committed to portraying Asian Americans in a positive light," Chan said. "It’s important to represent the community as best as we can."

Wang adds, "It's important to show that we're going to build up our star power on our own so that Hollywood can't ignore that we have millions of followers."

In an industry with space for diversity (The Last Airbender, Pitch Perfect's Kimmy Jin and Lily, How I Met Your Mother and most recently, Aloha), WongFu's commitment to portraying Asian Americans fairly and accurately (and portraying them at all) is refreshing and encouraging for the future of Hollywood.

So when the WongFu team announced their plans to produce their very first full-length movie, Everything Before Us (2015), I was pretty excited. The movie's leads include Brittany Ishibashi, Ki Hong Lee, Chris Riedell, Joanna Sotomura, Randall Park, Victoria Park, Brandon Soo Hoo and Aaron Yoo. The casting, which is almost entirely comprised of Asian American actors and actresses, was a conscious decision.

(Please take five minutes to watch this! It is honest, direct and refreshing.)

A product of their two and a half year journey, Wang explains that the team originally tried to produce a movie in 2008, but was denied by the movie industry because casting Asian actors was "not a good business choice" and "there was no market for it." When WongFu first started, Wang says they weren't trying to be "pioneers" for Asian Americans; they just wanted to tell good stories and happened to be Asian.

They addressed the question of casting perfectly on social media:

..Why not?? It's ironically perfect that our film @everythingbeforeus came out right around the time of this Emma Stone casting controversy. Isn't this be the besT time to support a movie that actually cast AsnAmericans.. and as leads? Hope Hollywood can someday not see us as a liability, just a martial artist, or quirky side kick. We have feelings and stories just like everyone that deserve to be shown and seen. Hollywood is slow, we're not waiting. #timetowatchWFsmovie! #thebiggerpicture

A photo posted by Wong Fu Productions Official (@wongfupro) on Jun 9, 2015 at 9:47pm PDT

So as both a fan and supporter of the team and their beliefs, I watched the film on Vimeo for $4.99. Like always, their videography was stellar. Their plot dealt with emotions and how our lives revolve around them -- nothing is truly black and white. It was realistic, relatable and entertaining while existing as a purely fictional story. Throughout the film, there were thought-provoking moments and scenarios I reminded myself to reflect upon later and quotes that inspired me to think more deeply about my perspective.

As always, WongFu delivered a wonderfully entertaining, inspiring and moving film that was rich with quality and depth. Their art is a product that speaks for itself -- both in creative expression and in everything that they stand for.

Their film portrays an undeniable reality: that the human experience is one that transcends race.

(Watch the trailer below.)