Reel News: Week of Nov. 18 — Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Delivery Man, Kill Your Darlings, 2 Guns, We’re the Millers

Upcoming Theatrical Releases

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Director: Francis Lawrence
PG-13; 146 mins.
Trailer

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) – a competition that could change Panem forever. (Synopsis by Lionsgate)

This movie represents a large step forward for the franchise. While the first film was engaging, it was not a particularly good adaptation. This installment is far more accessible for non-fans while still satisfying the die-hards. See it.

Delivery Man
Director: Ken Scott
PG-13; 104 mins.
Trailer

From DreamWorks Pictures comes “Delivery Man”, the story of affable underachiever David Wozniak, whose mundane life is turned upside down when he finds out that he fathered 533 children through sperm donations he made twenty years earlier. In debt to the mob, rejected by his pregnant girlfriend, things couldn’t look worse for David when he is hit with a lawsuit from 142 of the 533 twenty-somethings who want to know the identity of the donor. As David struggles to decide whether or not he should reveal his true identity, he embarks on a journey that leads him to discover not only his true self but the father he could become as well. (Synopsis by Disney)

This is a fluff remake of the much better film “Starbuck.” Vaughn does his best to try and salvage something, but it is not enough. This is a pure Hollywood money grab that simply falls flat. Skip it.

Kill Your Darlings
Director: John Krokidas
R; 100 mins.
Trailer

A murder in 1944 draws together the great poets of the beat generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. (Synopsis by IMDB)

A stylish interpretation of the poets’ lives that mostly works. The film seems to lack direction, but any fan of Beat work will recognize the artistry. Radcliffe and his co-stars make the script sing. See it.

Upcoming DVD Releases

2 Guns
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
R; 109 mins.
Trailer

A DEA agent and a naval intelligence officer find themselves on the run after a botched attempt to infiltrate a drug cartel. While fleeing, they learn the secret of their shaky alliance: Neither knew that the other was an undercover agent. (Synopsis by IMDB)

A graphic buddy-cop movie that is watchable, but not engaging. The best parts are Washington and Wahlberg bantering with each other. As long as you don’t expect too much, you won’t be disappointed. Rent it.

We’re the Millers
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
R; 110 mins.
Trailer

David Burke (Jason Sudeikis) is a small-time pot dealer whose clientele includes chefs and soccer moms, but no kids-after all, he has his scruples. So what could go wrong? Plenty. Preferring to keep a low profile for obvious reasons, he learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished when he tries to help out some local teens and winds up getting jumped by a trio of gutter punks. Stealing his stash and his cash, they leave him in major debt to his supplier, Brad (Ed Helms). In order towipe the slate clean-and maintain a clean bill of health-David must now become a big-time drug smuggler by bringing Brad’s latest shipment in from Mexico. Twisting the arms of his neighbors, cynical stripper Rose (Jennifer Aniston) and wannabe customer Kenny (Will Poulter), and the tatted-and-pierced streetwise teen Casey (Emma Roberts), he devises a foolproof plan. One fake wife, two pretend kids and a huge, shiny RV later, the “Millers” are headed south of the border for a Fourth of July weekend that is sure to end with a bang. (Synopsis by Warner Bros.)

A cobbled-together collection of jokes that were done better in other movies. The concept isn’t bad, but the execution leaves much to be desired. Too much talent was wasted on this. Skip it.