The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I (12A)

Directed by Francis Lawrence

4/5

THE BRUTAL Hunger Games are over and now the revolution against the totalitarian Capitol takes centrestage in this intelligent and thought-provoking third instalment of this franchise.

It’s fascinating to see the reluctant Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) being forced to embrace her destiny of becoming the leader and poster girl of the rebellion — the Mockingjay — in this virtually faithful adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s novel.

It picks up exactly where Catching Fire left off and in the process very cleverly explores the spin, manipulations and propaganda of war. It is compelling to watch how the rebellious Katniss is made camera-ready to star in propaganda videos to rally the rebels in other districts.

The transformation is carried out under the watchful eyes of the mysterious leader of District 13, President Coin (Julianne Moore), along with former Head Gamemaker and now one of the masterminds of the rebellion Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman, in his final role).

They are aided by Katniss’s determination to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) who is being tortured and possibly brainwashed by President Snow (Donald Sutherland).

Lawrence is statuesque and awe-inspiring as Katniss as she obliterates her young counterparts on the screen. Her emotional transformation is extraordinary and moving. 

Under Francis Lawrence’s skilled direction, this is a much darker and more menacing sequel in which the politics are even more riveting than the games themselves. Unfortunately we will have to wait till next year for what should be a nail-biting conclusion. 

Maria Duarte

Get On Up (12A)

Directed by Tate Taylor

3/5

Chadwick Boseman brings the “godfather of soul” to galvanizing life in a powerhouse performance which will blow James Brown fans away.

Boseman captures his musical genius, charisma and moves — as well as his flaws — in this biopic which doesn’t pull any punches about the incredible life of the hardest working man in showbusiness.

The biggest problem though is the film’s confusing and distracting nonlinear structure which also allows Brown to talk directly to the audience.

It takes a lot of getting used to and detracts from an otherwise fascinating and insightful tale.

Maria Duarte

My Old Lady (12)

Directed by Israel Horovitz

5/5

MATHIAS GOLD, a failed playwright and recovering alcoholic in his late fifties, is near the end of his tether. 

Gold (Kevin Kline) travels from New York to Paris to claim his only asset, a splendid apartment left to him by his estranged father. 

Upon arrival he is shocked to discover a tenant, Mathilde Girard (Maggie Smith), who has occupied the premises for decades. An old French law precludes him from selling the property to a developer while Mathilde is still alive.

What ensues is marked by a sharp script stuffed with jokes and engaging set-tos, with Smith as the driving force. As usual, she delivers her lines in a uniquely beautiful and elegant way.

Rita Di Santo

The Homesman (15)

Directed by Tommy Lee Jones

4/5

ASKED if his film is a Western, co-writer/director/star Tommy Lee Jones stated: “I’m not sure I can really answer your question because I don’t know what a Western is.”

But Jones’s harsh screenplay, co-written with Kieran Fitzgerald and Wesley Oliver, would seem to eloquently answer that question. 

Although The Homesman’s a Western, it’s happily not your traditional Hollywood Good Guys v Bad Guys-wearing-black-hats offering.

Here the setting, a minute town in Nebraska Territory in 1850, is grimly but vividly depicted. 

Hillary Swank hits all the right marks as an independent and resourceful frontier woman who saves the life of claim jumper Jones. 

Her reward? She gets him to transport three women back east who, traumatised by the miseries of frontier life, have been declared insane.

Jones turns what could have been a John Wayne wagon-master trope into a credible Western safari, creating a gripping picture of “real” travails through desolate locations.

His version of the West — even without depicting the usual conscience-free destruction of Native Americans — is powerful and affecting.

Performances are excellent, with the depressing exception of Meryl Streep whose self-idolising turn as a preacher’s wife is so overdone she appears to believe she is the star of Little Women.

Fortunately her “contribution” arrives on screen too late to completely ruin the movie.

Ethan Carter