Mockingjay AND Big Hero 6 (Plus Bonus Features)

Mockingjay AND Big Hero 6 (Plus Bonus Features)

Mockingjay AND Big Hero 6 (Plus Bonus Features)

Nine Things About the Movie "Big Hero 6"

1. This is the most pleasant surprise I've seen at the movies in 2014. From the cutesy trailer and the stupid title, it's like Disney doesn't want anybody to know what the movie really is.

2. It's about a 14-year-old genius named Hiro Hamada who lives in the city of San Fransokyo. He's out of high school, bored, and thinks college is for nerds. He spends his time in the city's battle robot underground. Hiro's older brother, Tadashi, is a robotics engineering student who has invented a new kind of robot named Baymax that specializes in health care.

3. After some bad things happen, Hiro reluctantly teams up with Baymax and Tadashi's friends to stop someone from stealing Hiro's own invention of swarming microbots. But that quest opens up bigger problems.

4. There are themes of death and loneliness in the film that aren't obvious from the way the movie is marketed. I was more emotionally invested in the movie than I expected to be.

5. The filmmakers consulted about six universities and robotics research labs for help on this movie. I'm pretty sure this is the only animated film I've ever seen that uses the term "tungsten carbide".

6. The character of Baymax was inspired by actual research in a new field called "soft robotics". And the swarming microbots in the film are also based on real research and inventions. Of course, the movie takes those ideas and then leaves reality behind.

7. The animation in this film is so incredibly detailed that some scenes look almost like real life. The 3D is also worth the extra price, if you like that sort of thing.

8. The movie unabashedly promotes science, technology, engineering, and education.Read more
Mockingjay AND Big Hero 6 (Plus Bonus Features)

Mockingjay The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 2014

Mockingjay The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 2014

Mockingjay The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 2014

I read the Hunger Games series again from start to finish over the summer, and I gotta say I really have developed an even stronger admiration for the series. The same can be said for the two previous movies: The Hunger Games and The Hunger Games Catching Fire respectively. And one of my most anticipated movies of 2014 was none other than Mockingjay Part 1.

Time has passed since Katniss sent her arrow flying into the base of the arena in the 75th Hunger Games. And Katniss is not quite the same person she was. Peeta is a captive of the Capitol, her home District 12 is in ruins, and an offer has been proposed for her to become the new leader, a template to show the President Snow and the Capitol that she is in fact The Mockingjay.

3 is the number that sometimes doesn't work for a movie trilogy but thankfully for The Hunger Games movies, Mockingjay Part 1 DOES. Starting first with Jennifer Lawrence, she once again shines in her role as Katniss; she definitely fulfills the necessary emotions of fear, depression, and resilience throughout the course of the movie. And she does harmonize the "Hanging Tree" tune very beautifully. Liam Hemsworth does well in the movie as Gale; going to extreme lengths to keep Katniss happy. This time around, Finnick is a man who has lost something so precious to his heart, and Sam Claflin nails it. Josh Hutcherson definitely deserves attention for his role as Peeta in Mockingjay Part 1. He is being tortured and made to tell Katniss and the Districts that no one is safe. And Peeta is assuredly NOT the same boy from the past two movies. Woody Harrelson returns as Haymitch and does a good job. Elizabeth Banks plays Effie Trinkett and does really well, even without all her makeup. And Donald Sutherland's role as President Snow is a lot more effective. 

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Mockingjay The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 2014