City of Cultural Murder

The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones is good for a laugh, and ranks somewhere between the cringe-worthy Twilight series and the downright horrific Percy Jackson series. It is quite entertaining, with the term mundane quite clearly applicable to the movie as a whole rather than merely humans. There is also the ubiquitous love triangle that makes all such movies so alluring. Stupid stuff

10/20

Frame by Frame

Not for a moment do I deny the cinematic quality, the excellent casting, the flawless special effects, and the sheer riveting spectacle that is The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug - the fifth installment of the LOTR/ Hobbit series. The issue is that we are perhaps too used to the excellence, and maybe the reader is left wondering just what justifiable reason could be given for stretching (by LOTR standards, a brief) novel to such lengthy proportions. Yes, it is a good watch while it is there. No, beyond a point, it is just pretty monotonous. A monotonous must-watch - a fate that i suspect that this Hollywood trend of milking franchises to the hilt will have to hear a lot more of

14.5/20

Girl on Fire

If you ignore the sheer murder of elements of ancient history – the pomp and splendor of the gladiatorial arena adorned by tributes in lycra, the hackneyed morality tale meets teen romance storyline, and the hangover of a tepid first part, The Hunger Games – Catching Fire is actually a (gasp!) taut well-narrated story. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) find themselves reluctant ambassadors for the Capital and President Snow (Donald Sutherland), and their ambivalence and potential to cause disruption is well-noted. Enter the latest edition of the games, and this time it is the 75^th edition and a kill-or-be-killed across previous winners. What the movie obviously lacks in a meaningful storyline, it makes up in some pretty cutting edge cinematography. Worth a watch and will not test your patience at all

14/20