The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1 PG-13
Having split the final installment of Suzanne Collins’ blockbuster trilogy into two parts, this third film in the series takes viewers to the halfway point of Collins’ 27-chapter novel. Positioned as a windup to the climactic finale to be released this time next year, we find heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) being groomed to become the face and spokesperson of the rebellion. Julianne Moore, portraying District 13’s president, works tirelessly to motivate the masses, while turncoat Capitol game-maker Plutarch (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his wheelchair-bound hacker (Jeffrey Wright) are determined to galvanize the citizens of all the districts to overthrow President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Set mostly underground, Everdeen comes topside to view the after-effects of a government attack on her home, District 12. Still caught in a love triangle between Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and the ever-ardent Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Katniss struggles to separate truth from propaganda and come to terms with the inevitable war to come. (Lisa Miller)
