THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Grade: A

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz, Jeffrey Wright and Jena Malone

Premise: Katniss Everdeen deals with deadly traps and shaky alliances in a new hunger games as she fights to protect her closest ally, Peeta.

Rated PG-13 for violence and intense action, blood and disturbing images, intense emotional content and brief language

The movie posters and marketing campaign for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire state clearly that the star of the film is Jennifer Lawrence. Ask anyone on their way to the theater to see the movie, and they’ll tell you the same thing. They’re wrong. No offense to the 23-year-old Oscar-winning actress, who headlines this film with a solid performance, but after seeing this movie, I’m convinced the real star is Director Francis Lawrence (no relation). Hired when the first Hunger Games’ director, Gary Ross, dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, Mr. Lawrence has made a sequel that is not only up to par, but arguably superior to the first movie in every way. Faster, sleeker, and more consistently entertaining, Catching Fire makes its predecessor look like an ambitious home movie, with its constant shaky-cam effects and uneven pace.  This second installment is also one of the best movie adaptations of a book I’ve ever seen (I’ve read Catching Fire, the second book in Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy, about five times, and while watching the movie I thought: they couldn’t possibly make a better movie of Catching Fire; this is literally almost perfect).

Ross’s Hunger Games had no shortage of admirers, what with over $400 million in its domestic coffers, but Catching Fire is an immediate, unmistakable improvement, and one of the year’s best movies so far.

Plot:

As one half of the winning duo of the 74^th Hunger Games, teenager Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) has become an instant celebrity. Her family now lives in a mansion instead of a shack, she has more money than she knows what to do with, and everyone in her world knows her name. But her life is not without its troubles. Peeta (Josh Hutcherson)—the boy she pretended to love in order to convince the makers of the Hunger Games to let two people win instead of one—has largely turned his back on her, offended and hurt by what he perceives as nothing but acting. And that’s child’s play compared to the grudge being nursed by President Snow (Donald Sutherland), the head of the country of Panem, who saw Katniss’ actions in the Games as direct defiance of his regime and all it stands for. He considers her responsible for rebellions that have started across the twelve districts in his orderly nation, and he’s hired a new security advisor (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to think of ways to manipulate and harm Katniss. Desperate to protect herself and her family, Katniss considers running away and living a life in hiding, but the stubbornness and affection of her best friend and sort-of crush, Gale (Liam Hemsworth), stops her.

Then, in an unprecedented development, Katniss is forced to compete in the Hunger Games again, when the 75^th anniversary Games is turned into a sort of All-Star affair, with previous winners as the participants. Katniss is automatically selected, but, when her drunken mentor Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) is selected as her male counterpart, Peeta volunteers in his place. Touched, Katniss makes a secret deal with Haymitch, who will be on the outside looking in at the Games: make sure Peeta’s the one who lives. She even vows to do whatever she can--including sacrificing her own life--to ensure his survival. But even that might not be enough, because the new Games turns out to be more terrifying than any other—the arena is rigged with deadly booby traps like invisible force fields, lightning storms, unstoppable tidal waves and vicious animals. And then there are the other contestants, all former winners and, as such, proven killers, including the swaggering, confident Finnick (Sam Clalfin), cunning, fierce Johanna (Jena Malone), wicked-smart Beetee (Jeffrey Wright), and hulking Brutus (Bruno Gunn). Katniss has skill, and plenty of courage, but, as ever with the Hunger Games, there can only be one winner.

What Works?

This might be extravagant praise, but Catching Fire might be one of the most accessible movies ever made. Anyone can walk into the theater, watch it, and appreciate it, regardless of their familiarity with the source text. The direction is so assured, and the script so complete, that those who haven’t read the book won’t be missing anything (though a repeat viewing of the first movie might be necessary, as this installment hits the ground running). And devotees of Collins’ book will be enraptured, as nearly every scene has a direct basis in the text, and more than half the dialogue has been retained verbatim. As was the case in the first Hunger Games, the only significant things that have been added are a handful of behind-the-scenes sequences with President Snow, as he sits in his office watching the Games and mulling over how to exploit/demean/kill Katniss next. These scenes weren’t possible in the book because of the first-person viewpoint; they’re good for quick catch-up exposition for those who didn’t read the book (they’re certainly not hindrances, what with Sutherland’s superb, quietly-calculating performance). 

>>>NOTE: You may know me as an incredible stickler for movie adaptations being faithful to the books. Catching Fire adheres far more closely to its source text than any of the Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Hobbit movies, and it actually improves on a number of things from the book. Some lengthy scenes have been shortened and made more direct, some things are conveyed in a line or two of dialogue instead of pages of thought, and some of the action has been streamlined (the last third of the book has been brilliantly condensed here to leave out all unnecessary details). Ultimately, not only did it enter this reviewer’s mind that this is the best Catching Fire movie they could’ve made; it also entered my mind that this could be the (extremely) rare movie that’s actually better than the book it’s based on. I won’t say that outright, but anyone who does has a valid argument.

In this age of blockbusters filled to the brim with overwhelming CGI and constant shaky-cam-style photography, Catching Fire looks great. The cityscape of the Capitol is fuller, more convincing, and more impressive this time. The outlandish outfits worn by the well-to-do in the Capitol are as incredibly elaborate and eye-catching as ever. The arena looks great, the cinematography is incredible (the camera captures some images perfectly) and three of the central action sequences in the Games have been made into three of this year’s most awesome and invigorating sequences (in particular, there’s a bit with a flock of attacking birds that comes straight from a Hitchcockian nightmare). In other words, they did a darn good job making this movie.

No, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire isn’t really an actors’ movie, but the iconic characters are all brought to life by fully-committed performers. In the biggest and juiciest role, Jennifer Lawrence acquits herself well. Despite her Best Actress Oscar win last year, I have doubts about the overall range of her acting ability, but she’s found a perfect role for her talents in Katniss, and she can turn on the hysterics like few others (she can shake an audience to its core--and does it--with her crying/screaming antics in the big moments here). No one else has as showy a role as Lawrence, but that may be because some of them don’t even appear to be acting. I wrote in my review of the original Games movie that the part of Peeta fits Josh Hutcherson “like a glove”, and I stand by that statement after a second go-around; he just is the genuinely kind-hearted boy-next-door. Similarly, Woody Harrelson just is the cynical layabout Haymitch, Lenny Kravitz just is the warm, soothing Cinna, and even Liam Hemsworth is easily-convincing as the sturdy Gale. I was more impressed with Elizabeth Banks this go-round--the actress is constantly peering out from behind walls of makeup and from under eye-watering wigs, but her character, Effie Trinket, is actually given real emotion and depth, a step up from the comic relief she provides on the page. As mentioned, Sutherland is great; another returner from the first film, Stanley Tucci, proves a delightful fountain of energy, and newcomer Philip Seymour Hoffman lacks a really showy role but makes up for it just by playing convincingly smarter than everybody else. The chief new Games contender, Finnick, is not only well-captured by Sam Claflin, but the actor adds an edgier, more sardonic bite to his dialogure (and when Finnick’s façade cracks over the fate of an ally, Claflin makes you remember it). Lastly, a perfectly-cast Jena Malone makes a great impression in a short time as feisty tough girl Johanna.

What Doesn’t Work?

Uhhh…was there anything? Well, I won’t deny Catching Fire is long—it feels like two-and-a-half hours, and despite the excitement happening, it can drag. Happily, all of its slowest moments happen early on—about ten minutes in comes a scene between Donald Sutherland and Jennifer Lawrence that crackles with sharp dialogue, and that rights the ship. This isn't a perfect movie, but I can't pretend I have many beefs with it.

Content

There are a few cuss words (including two actually bleeped out by the movie), and a few brief innuendos, but, of course, what makes this movie tough is the majority of its content. There’s less people-on-people fighting this time around, but still plenty of close-ups of people who are dead, dying, or severely injured. There are a lot of scary or unsettling moments, whether that’s attacking animals, a pounding soundtrack, or Jennifer Lawrence screaming in distress. It’s true that the books were aimed at teenagers, but I would advise parents with younger kids to see it first themselves (or watch the first one, because it’s the same sort of general content).

Bottom Line (seriously, this is it)

Whew, that was a lot. A great book turned into a movie that might actually be outright better than the book? Have I ever written anything like that on this blog before? Seriously, Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a terrific adaptation, a considerably better movie than its predecessor, and easily the best big-budget spectacle in a year full of half-hearted disappointments. And it really does make you want to see the next one right now.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Directed by Francis Lawrence

Written by Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt; Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins

Rated PG-13

Length: 146 minutes

THOR: THE DARK WORLD

Thor: The Dark World
Grade: C+

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston, Anthony Hopkins, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgaard, Idris Elba and Rene Russo
Premise: Thor teams up with his disgraced brother Loki to try and stop the Dark Elves from unleashing an ancient, destructive power on the universe.

Rated PG-13 for intense action and violence, some bloody/disturbing images, and some language

I wanted to like Thor: The Dark World. I really did. I know all it’s supposed to be is stylized, easily-digestible popcorn movie hokum, but, as 2011’s Thor proved, this particular material can’t help but have a certain charm. With a whole host of game, likeable actors (Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba) playing larger-than-life characters built on old-fashioned morals and drive, and an entire universe (make that multiple universes) to play with, Thor has an intriguing mythological aspect the modern Iron Man and Spiderman movies can’t. But the filmmakers clearly don’t care for any real complexity (probably assuming their fanboy target audience doesn't, either), so, despite the actors’ best efforts, the movie’s really about the quips, the storyline gimmicks, the celeb cameos, and the Marvel Comics in-jokes. The result is a film that has its moments but is also unmistakably packaged to be nothing more than marketable, to simply tide people over until the next Avengers can come out. Which is a shame.

Plot

It’s been two years since astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) met and fell in love with Asgardian warrior prince Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in the New Mexico desert, but she hasn’t forgotten him. In fact, she now spends her days hunting for evidence of shifting gravitational fields and random atmospheric anomalies, hoping for a way to communicate with him. When her colleague Darcy (Kat Dennings) discovers a kind of gravitational wormhole in downtown London, Jane eagerly goes to investigate. It’s not a way to communicate with Thor; what Jane finds is the Aether, an ancient, matter destroying particle virus hidden on Earth millennia ago by Thor’s grandfather, who sought to keep it out of reach of the Dark Elves, a cruel prehistoric race who wanted to quench all light in the universe. When Jane unwittingly touches the Aether, it infects her, leaving her alive but prone to random destructive outbursts. Sensing the danger while on a break between battles in the Nine Realms, Thor returns to Earth to keep Jane from causing anyone harm, and to see if his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), and mother, Frigga (Rene Russo), know of any ways to heal her. They don’t, but their attention soon moves on from Jane when the Dark Elves—thought by even Odin to be instinct—attack Asgard in invisible, technologically-advanced spacecraft. Their leader, Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), seeks to use the Aether to destroy the universe, killing Jane if that’s what it takes to release it.

While Odin dutifully prepares for a long war, Thor, desperate to free Jane from the Aether, turns to an old adversary for help: Loki (Tom Hiddleston). After his failed conquest of Earth (in The Avengers), Loki was spared execution at Odin’s hands only by his adopted mother’s love, so he spends his days whiling away time in a dungeon. Despite their adversarial relationship, Thor has never completely given up on his adopted brother, and, though he warns Loki he’ll kill him if he betrays him, he admits he knows Loki must know ways off Asgard that aren’t being watched, as he has dabbled in dark magic. Thor’s plan is to get Jane to The Dark World—the Dark Elves’ home planet—and find a way to free the Aether in that environment, where it can’t damage anything of real value. Loki agrees to help, but they both know they’re in a race against time—a rare cosmic alignment of all Nine Realms is approaching, and, if he regains possession of the Aether at the right moment, Malekith will find it all too easy to destroy them.

What Works?

Hemsworth remains a manly hunk who’s fun to watch in a fight, but the fact remains the most interesting thing about Thor is his hammer. He’s a thinly-written character on the page. The heart and soul of this film is really Loki. Indeed, after two Thor movies--plus his appearance in The Avengers--I think it's clear Hiddleston's sharp-tongued ne'er-do-well is the MVP of this part of the Marvel Universe. You can feel the audience's interest increase with Loki's every appearance, because, even if all he's doing is speaking from behind the glass of a prison cell, Hiddleston makes him intriguing, suggesting a depth, unpredictability, and realness of emotion the other characters don't. All of The Dark World's best scenes revolve around Loki--he supplies most of the film's humor and a good portion of the energy--thanks to Hiddleston's knack for delivering his lines like they're Shakespeare, no matter how lame they really are. And Hemsworth can thank Hiddleston: all of Thor's best scenes come in Loki's presence, because the characters' portrayed bond gives both the chance to dig a little deeper, which keeps Thor from being just a guy swinging a hammer.

As before, the city and landscapes set on these invented worlds are gorgeous, and the campy, half Lord of the Rings/half Star Wars theology/mythology makes for intriguing background stories and epic battles. You could undoubtedly set a whole franchise in these Realms, and just leave Earth out of the picture. A quietly-gorgeous Asgard-set funeral highlights the promise of the aesthetic, other-worldly pleasures of this franchise. And I’ll admit The Dark World’s constant twists and turns do make for some pleasant surprises.

What Doesn’t Work?

Yeah, the ‘What Works’ section wasn’t very long for a reason. I didn’t hate Thor: The Dark World, I just grew frustrated with it. Too many things weren’t done right. Natalie Portman’s Jane is here stripped of all conviction/depth; she’s basically a wide-eyed fangirl.  Her sidekick Darcy is an irritating motormouth. Stellan Skarsgaard’s pseudo-father figure scientist has somehow morphed into a grating, gibberish-spouting nutcase. Some of the special effects are corny (a scene where Dark Elf spacecraft face anti-aircraft laser fire from Asgardian towers screams Star Wars rip-off) and the film’s conclusion makes little sense and is dragged out way too long. Oh, and the next conclusion (we’ve learned by now: Marvel comics movies never have just one) essentially throws out the best five minutes of the movie, leaving fanboys cheering but leaving serious moviegoers groaning.

The movie’s also littered with small self-contradictory details (how come cops and Asgardian nurses can’t touch Jane without getting blasted by the Aether, but Thor can? How can Thor hang his hammer on a coat rack without it causing any damage when it’s supposed to be so heavy even the Hulk can’t lift it? And really—a guy who survived laser gun blasts and a whack upside the head with Thor’s hammer dies by getting crushed by a falling spaceship? Seriously?) Oh, and I always knew Thor would pick Jane, but I can’t help thinking the writers missed out (or maybe I just think Thor himself missed out) by giving an early hint that Thor’s sexy ally Sif (Jaimie Alexander) has eyes for him, and then dropping it and forgetting about it. Thor: The Dark World probably doesn’t need anything else crammed into its nonstop-busy two hours, but a love triangle might’ve added a little something extra, don’t you think?

Content

It’s your typical Marvel movie. There are some intense moments and some nasty baddies and the main characters occasionally find themselves in dire situations, but everything works out, there’s no blood, and no one (except bad guys) gets all that hurt. There’s definitely an Earth-bound cuss word or two, but the only nudity is a shot of Thor’s muscular torso, and all the violence is largely cartoonish. Not saying kiddies won’t find The Dark World intense, but it shouldn’t give them nightmares.

The Bottom Line

A little too long, too crowded, and too obviously aiming to be a crowd-pleaser rather than a movie of any real merit, Thor: The Dark World is a decent blockbuster, but not more than that. That flying hammer sure is cool, though.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Directed by Alan Taylor

Written for the Screen by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely; Based on the Comic Book by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby

Rated PG-13

Length: 112 minutes

ENDER'S GAME

Ender’s Game (2013)
Grade: B+

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, Abigail Breslin, Ben Kingsley, Aramis Knight, Moises Arias and Nonso Anozie

Premise: An intellectually-gifted boy is selected for membership at a school designed to train combat commanders. As he moves through the ranks, he comes to realize he may be humanity's only hope in the upcoming war with a powerful alien race.

Rated PG-13 for intense action and violent content, and some disturbing images

Rarely have I been so undecided and unsure of my feelings after one viewing of a movie as I was after I saw Ender’s Game last Thursday night. I’d been looking forward to seeing it for some time, but between being tired at the end of a long work day, and being unable to keep comparisons to the book (which I have read) out of my head, I didn’t quite know what to think. Immediately, I knew I’d need a second viewing. After all, it seemed to be a pretty faithful adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s enduringly-popular science fiction epic, and I’m somebody who traditionally hates movie adaptations of books because they tend to alter details. Yet I’m not a complete devotee of the book like some of my friends are, so I could watch the movie for the movie (this has memorably not been my mindset for movies past; so I've had some pretty vindictive responses to the likes of Harry Potter and Silver Linings Playbook for differing from their source material).

Well, after seeing Ender's Game again last night, I was roundly impressed. It’s unquestionably one of the most faithful big-screen adaptations of a book I’ve ever seen. Showing a flair for stunning visuals and giving tight focus to a few key characterizations, writer/director Gavin Hood’s film is a well-paced and well-acted adventure that really, above all, is a study of one boy’s very human heart.

Plot

Some fifty years after Earth was nearly conquered by an insectoid alien race called Formics, the world’s leaders have adopted a program in which gifted children are sent to special military schools and trained to think like military leaders. Some of them are even fitted with a cerebral monitor that allows government personnel in distant telecommunications rooms to see what they’re seeing, hear what they’re hearing, and see if they might have the temperament and habits to be a great leader. Andrew ‘Ender’ Wiggin (the very good Asa Butterfield) is one such boy, the third in his family to be ‘monitored’. His sweetheart sister, Valentine (Abigail Breslin), failed out of the ‘monitor’ program and the chance to go to an elite ‘battle school’ because she was too compassionate; his brother Peter (Jimmy Pinchak) failed because he was too aggressive. Ender might be smarter than either of them, but he doesn’t seem to have the guile to be a great military leader. But when he beats the tar out of a bigger, tougher classmate who mocks him for appearing to have failed out of the monitoring program early on, a gruff, no-nonsense colonel by the name of Graff (Harrison Ford) likes what he sees.

Suddenly, Ender’s whisked away to battle school, a fascinating, floating fortress in space where kids are separated into Armies, live like real military recruits, and practice fighting techniques and battle strategy during zero-gravity face-offs with freeze-ray guns. Ender’s shy and skinny, but he has heart, and brains. He sees things others don’t, as Graff is quick to point out. With his quick intellect, he can out-think people, whether that’s dissing class bullies, out-talking a blustering drill sergeant (Nonso Anozie), subverting enemy maneuvers or proving a better strategist, and fiercer fighter, than even his hard-nosed Army commander (Moises Arias). He soon has an Army of his own, which includes treasured allies like the cocksure Bean (Aramis Knight), warmly-supportive Petra (Hailee Steinfeld), and quietly-encouraging Alai (Suraj Partha). He’s soon being shadowed by Graff, mentored by the great leader who stopped the last Formic invasion (Ben Kingsley), and being groomed for eventual military command. But, no matter how many ‘battles’ he wins, no matter how much ‘fighting’ he does, and despite his knack for taking out the people who really push him, Ender isn’t sure he wants to be at the forefront of a destructive fighting force. By and large, he’s more afraid of the darkness in his own heart—what he, personally, is capable of—than of any so-called enemy race.

What Works?

Ender’s Game moves quickly—a trip to the bathroom or concessions mid-scene may leave you lost when you return—but if you focus too obsessively on the story and the dialogue, you might miss the fact that this movie is gorgeous to look at. Gavin Hood and his teams of special effects experts have created a spectacle that’s utterly beyond reproach, and deserves mention alongside the likes of Avatar, Life of Pi and Gravity as top-of-the-line cinematic eye candy. Whether you’re talking about the battle room—with its elaborate spherical design, floating obstacles, streamlined fight suits and immobilizing ray guns—the floating battle school as a whole, or space battles in which fleets of high-tech spacecraft are surrounded by gargantuan swarms of attacking fighters, Game is filled with stunning sights. One throwaway shot as impressive as any is the night-time launch of a space shuttle, its afterburners providing the only light, and its ascent accentuated by snow glistening on the mountains behind it.

The acting is uniformly fine, starting with Ender himself. Asa Butterfield proved himself capable of carrying a movie of real dramatic weight two years ago in Hugo, and here, given some great material by Gavin Hood, he gives an impressive, well-rounded performance. Though Ender can think and reason like the smartest adults (you can all but see the wheels in his head turning scene after scene), he’s still a child—homesick, afraid, and horrified and disgusted by what he sometimes does under pressure. With his big, expressive eyes, Butterfield emotes fearlessly and effectively, reminding us constantly that Ender is no robot. On the opposite side of the emotional spectrum is Colonel Graff, played by sci-fi legend Ford as essentially the opposite of the actor’s typical devil-may-care types. Graff has a core of hard, cold steel, and the lack of humor or whimsy of a man who’s spent his entire life preparing, dead-seriously, for war; yet from that fighting-man’s approach comes a reverence for his young prodigy, when it becomes clear Ender might have “the stuff”. He doesn’t care whether war might claim Ender or anyone else’s life (“what does it matter if there’s nothing left?” he snarls at one point to a subordinate), but he cares obsessively about getting him there, because he sees Ender as the One Thing that might just save humanity. It’s a fine, fully-committed performance.

I’ve already heard a lot of murmuring by devotees of Card’s book that most of the supporting roles have been cut so thin by Hood’s screenplay that they aren’t very faithful to the book, or else have been majorly cheated, but that’s not a surprise in cutting a dense 250-plus page book down to a two-hour movie. The actors in those roles commit themselves well, though, no matter the screen-time. Viola Davis is solid (no surprise there) as a more empathetic military officer, Abigail Breslin convincingly portrays Valentine’s gentleness and sweetness, which a violence-hating person like Ender craves in his life, Moises Arias commands the screen as hateful Army commander Bonzo Madrid, and Aramis Knight brings down the house with one of Bean’s most hilariously-cutting comeback lines.

 What Doesn’t Work?

Though Ender’s Game is neither a monsters-in-space movie (a la Alien and Prometheus) nor a space-based action extravaganza (Star Wars, Star Trek), it’s still consistently entertaining, bringing lots of strategy and intrigue to the screen as it builds to the spectacular final battle. Most of my criticisms of the film are nit-picks, like the fact that Ender’s blustering drill sergeant is a hammy cliché, despite a committed performance by the hulking Nonso Anozie. But despite the generally stimulating onscreen developments in this adaptation, two scenes resonate with me as not quite complete. One involves the great Ben Kingsley, whose third-act appearance is hampered by his character’s borderline-unintelligible Australian accent. There's a scene in which he tries to explain to Ender his unique facial tattoos, but after two viewings, I still don’t have a clue what he said (and it sounded important). The other scene is a late-in-the-running-time meeting between Ender and one of the Formics. Throughout all his strategizing and simulated battles, Ender has been yearning to know his enemy, and this scene, while bookended by sort-of-descriptive voiceovers, still lacks something (this is one of the times where knowing the book's additional detail will seriously be of assistance to viewers). The Formics can’t speak, but there appears to be an attempt to communicate, but without any words—even voiceover—you just have to assume what went on. I wanted something more, mainly because the book’s poignant, thoughtful ending was my favorite part.

 The Bottom Line

I don’t think Ender’s Game the movie is going to be a real widespread crowd-pleaser, but as someone who was mildly familiar with the book, I enjoyed it immensely. It’s visually astonishing, has a few good laughs and some spectacular battles (the strategies Ender uses in battle, as they did in Card’s book, have a way of making you feel smarter just for seeing and understanding them). But the film, like the book, really boils down to a realistic and intimate psychological portrait, where a child with a genius adult’s mind and knack for strategy struggles to hold onto his innocence, and to reason with the increasingly cold, bleak world around him. In Ender I see the struggle against violence and darkness and callousness we all experience, and the movie’s better for it. A well-acted, marvelously-put together sci-fi adventure piece with a conscience? Sounds like a movie I’ll watch again.

Ender’s Game (2013)

Written for the Screen and Directed by Gavin Hood
Based on the novel “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card
Rated PG-13
Length: 114 minutes