Batman: The Dark
Knight Returns, Part 2 (2013) – After a mostly successful first half, the
conclusion to this animated adaptation of Frank Miller’s iconic “last” Batman
story is effective, engaging, and highly entertaining. Though the decision to break the film into
two parts seems motivated only by sales and creates an odd break where you have
to change discs midstream, the filmmakers have taken advantage of this extended
format and given us full versions of the two major confrontations that conclude
the book: Batman’s last match with The
Joker, and his face-off with Superman.
My thoughts about the voice cast remain unchanged: as Batman, Weller is solid (but no Conroy),
and Ariel Winter is a good choice for the spunky Carrie Kelley. The two new cast members, though, are even
better; Michael Emerson is a genuinely disturbing Joker whose affection for the
Dark Knight never wavers from how creepy it’s meant to be, while Mark Valley’s
Superman is the perfect aging Boy Scout, unwitting lapdog for “The Man.” The word I can use to best describe this film
is “unflinching” because it more than earns its PG-13 rating; consistent with
Miller’s gritty original, Part 2 is
relentlessly violent, especially when depicting Joker’s last murderous
rampage. It’s an accurate treatment of
the source material, but the senseless violence may turn off some viewers; I
suspect, though, that’s the point, since it helps us understand the difficult
decision Batman has to make when he tells Joker, “No more.” While I’d like to see other superheroes get
this kind of treatment, Part 2
confirms that the DC’s animated studio knows what it’s doing.
The Hunger Games
(2012) – First of all, thank heavens for Suzanne Collins for giving us a sophisticated
and emotionally compelling franchise to dethrone Twilight. And thank heavens
for Gary Ross, too, whose adaptation of The
Hunger Games is smart and surprisingly artistic without compromising what
works about the book – namely, the survivalist bent of the story and its biting
political satire. Jennifer Lawrence is
the epitome of “rising star” as Katniss Everdeen, who’s thrust into a televised
death match meant to supply a repressed populace with bread and circuses from
the Capitol of dystopic Panem. The
decision to eliminate the book’s first-person narration is a wise one, cinematically
speaking, but as a result the film may come off as a little flat and
emotionless for those who haven’t read the book (or maybe it doesn’t?). Wisely, though, the film expands beyond
Katniss’s singular perspective, allowing us to see more clearly the state of
life in the Capitol: decadence a la Lady
Gaga (including Stanley Tucci as the Capitol’s delightfully flamboyant version
of Larry King), political maneuvering orchestrated by Donald Sutherland’s restrained
but smarmy President Snow, and an infectious performative posturing that begins
to corrupt our protagonists (which should pay off in sequels, if I’m
remembering the books correctly). Ross
brings an artistic touch to the film, which indulges the sentimentality of one
contestant’s death in a haunting POV shot, while prizing orchestral score over
chaotic battle sounds to emphasize the dehumanization of the Games. It’s a shame that he’s not returning for the sequels,
but a fantastic cast (let’s not forget Woody Harrelson as the begrudging
inebriated mentor Haymitch) led by Lawrence at the top of her game suggest that the odds are ever in this franchise's favor – at least, more so than Twilight.
That does it for this week’s edition of “Monday at the Movies.” Don’t forget that the Double-Oh-Seventh of the month is coming up on Thursday (hint, hint), and after that we’ll see you here next week!
