Sure, all of these are relatively recent movies still in theaters that probably deserve their own reviews, but we’re at the end-of-the-year crunch, so…
In the Heart of the Sea…I’m a little bit biased since I love this type of movie. You’ve got the ocean; you’ve got an old-timey setting; you’ve got a man vs. nature theme, etc. I mean, what’s not to like? It’s unfortunate that so few people seem to be watching this in theaters as that’s really the best possible place to watch it. Just sit back for a few hours and be absorbed into a world where whale oil was how cities were powered (they didn’t know yet that oil was in the ground…too bad they had to figure that out). Still, it must be said that this is a decent movie–the characters and two lead performances are just so-so, especially the bland and incompetent “Captain”–built around an amazing set piece: the introduction of “Moby Dick” that destroys the central sailboat. It’s a true wow-zer of a scene that more than elevates the rest of the film. Grade: B+
The Hunger Games 4…So I think this is the year that Hollywood finally learned you can’t split the final movie or season of a film or TV series. Between “Mad Men”‘s disappointingly protracted final season and the unnecessary splitting of the final Hunger Games book into two movies, I think this might be one trend that’s on the decline. Truth is, “Hunger Games” really should have been just three movies instead of four, and it’s hard to not be a little bored with this final installment since we were more than ready to see the downfall of President Snow last year. There is a disappointing numbness to this installment, as if the film is just going through the motions, and that’s only disrupted during a truly exciting sequence set in a sewer full of killer mutants. Of course, that really feels like it belongs more in the “Aliens” franchise than “Hunger Games.” Still, so long Katniss and especially the smoothly nefarious President Snow, because nobody makes fascism seem more silky than Donald Sutherland. Grade: C
The Peanuts Movie…A charmingly old-fashioned trifle that’s faithful to the spirit of the “Peanuts” comic strip. There’s not a lot of “plot” exactly, and it can be awfully episodic, but Charlie Brown’s quest to talk to the new redheaded girl in his class is pitch-perfect in its realism. This is as close to getting inside the mind of a young boy as “Inside Out” was to the internal life of a young girl. Grade: B
I agree that splitting the final episodes is not a good idea. The time between them hurt and don’t they make enough money?