Katniss Marketing

In the buildup to the last installment, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is literally paraded by the rebel factions hidden in District 13. Led by President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), Katniss becomes a thoroughly marketed symbol of hope for all the Districts breaking out in rebellion, with the highlight being a particularly rousing speech in District 8 post the bombing of a hospital. In the backdrop plays out the impending confrontation of Katniss with President Snow (Donald Sutherland), and the release of her boyfriend Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) with some complicated side-effects. Clearly a bridge-ing movie, The Hunger Games – Mockingjay – Part 1 preserves continuity, but has little new to offer

13.5/20

Gamb-le

A heist with a simple little twist in the tale. Harry Deane (Colin Firth) is seeking to take revenge on his former boss Lord Lionel Shabandar (Alan Rickman) by stealing (or is it substituting?) a painting. He is helped by a free spirited girl from Texas PJ Puznowski (Cameron Diaz). You will not see the last twist coming – not, however, that that makes Gambit particularly remarkable

12/20

Fifth and First

The Fifth Estate profiles the groundbreaking work of Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch), whose key contribution to the noble act of whistleblowing was committing to privacy. While exposes on Julius Baer's shady clients, the goings-on of banks in Iceland and dictators in Kenya, were fairly one-sided stories, the possibility of confidential information putting people in harm's way is accentuated in the last episode of release of information of US Government war-room text messages. A good watch, though perhaps not as intense and engaging as it could have been

13/20

Full of Beans

With a few smartly crafted twists and turns, Jack the Giant Slayer is the story of Jack (Nicholas Hoult), a spunky if somewhat distracted farm-boy, his muse the Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson), and a few knights of the realm of Cloister – notable among them the honorable Elmont (Ewan Mc Gregor) and the nefarious Roderick (Stanley Tucci). When a small escapade leads Jack to possess certain beans, and his paths cross with that of a princess bent on escaping the confines of her castle, the two embark on an unlikely adventure that faces up to the Kingdom of Giants, the stuff of fables brought to a grim reality. Quite the children’s entertainer, and never a dull moment - mostly

11.5/20

No Hunger

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) offers herself as a tribute to save her sister Primrose (Willow Shields) - and the Girl on Fire makes up in spunk what she lacks in battle training. As her personality manages to curry favor - albeit grudging - with Sponsors - Katniss steps into The Hunger Games - well rated, but perhaps with not the best of odds. Was skeptical at entry about a film adaptation of a teen novel, but was a good watch till the interval, i.e., the anticipatory build-up to the games. Not so the Hunger Games themselves. Contrived and brutal, and not quite Death Race, the movie version is a decent adaptation of a story about children slaughtering each other – and that, unfortunately, in the end reckoning, is rather tasteless

10/20

Selling at the Margin

In a not-so-irregular round of bloodletting in an unnamed Wall Street investment bank, Chief Risk Officer Eric Dale (Staley Tucci) is let go. While leaving the bank premises, he asks associate Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) to look at a model that he was working on – with the parting words – “Be Careful”. Peter passes up a night with the boys and completes the model – and realizes its catastrophic and immediate implications on the bank’s own risk positions. The rest of the night is an effort at assembling the bank’s top management and deciding on a de-risking strategy – nothing more than a “sell it all” diktat - and deliberating upon the consequences of the same on both the book and the bank’s reputation for years to come. Margin Call is an all-star, accurate, gripping insight into the cold-blooded world of investment banking, and the eventual dispensability of all those that are in it

15.5/20