AD ASTRA

Brad Pitt     Liv Tyler     Ruth Negga     Tommy Lee Jones     Donald Sutherland     Anne McDaniels     Loren Dean

     A space journey.  And what a journey. Ad Astra is a captivating experience both in terms of travel in space and in the distinctly human journey its main character, Roy McBride, undergoes.  This may be one of Brad Pitt’s most significant roles, even given so many others such as Moneyball, Inglorious Basterds, and Fight Club.  Here, on “mental health exams” given to him by the U.S. Space Command, he reflects on himself and what has happened to him in his life in an honest, forthright manner that allows us to see him as a real person, a committed, sometimes troubled man with doubts and fears.  Yet, he has a reputation for being the coolest of cool in any emergency, and we will see that manifested brilliantly in the course of the film.

     The ways in which space travel is presented by the filmmakers becomes so realistic the sense of being out there remains long after leaving the theater.  Directors James Gray, cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, production designer Kevin Thompson and their crews portray so vividly the atmosphere, the views, the instrumentation, and the tumbling/floating/falling that are inherent in space travel, afterwards, you really feel like you’ve been there.

     The story is interesting, pulling in themes of father-son relationships, government policies and projects, military command hierarchies, and conspiracy issues. Roy McBride has become an astronaut following in the steps of his heroic father Clifford McBride, head of U.S. Space Command’s Lima Project, but who has been missing for years.  Roy assumes he is dead.  

     But when the Space Agency discovers that Clifford may be alive, it calls on him to go on a mission to find his father.  The concern is that he may be responsible for the majorly disruptive, unpredictable global power surges currently wreaking havoc in the world. Roy is ambivalent for personal reasons (he has a hard time seeing his heroic father as a rogue), as well as evidentiary.  His doubts are based on what he knows about his father and the weak evidence against Clifford presented by the agency.  Roy feels sometimes that he is being “pulled down the same dark hole” as his father.  Not only Roy, but the viewer too is likely to wonder about the evidence.  It suggests that Clifford has become a megalomaniac who has gone off the deep end.  But the evidence presented seems very slim.

     Despite his misgivings, Roy is dogged in following the command given to him. In the process, he has to make difficult decisions and potential sacrifices—not only those of his own, but those of others as well—to resolve the problem he was presented with. Some of these are the nail-biting episodes where life and death are in the balance.

This is a story where the hero takes things into his own hands and makes something of them, gleaning hard facts and drawing insightful conclusions from what he learns.  

Grade:  A-                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY, PART 2

Jennifer Lawrence   Josh Hutcherson   Liam Hemsworth   Woody Harrelson   Donald Sutherland   Julianne Moore   Elizabeth Banks   Stanley Tucci, Philip Seymour Hoffman

          Mockingjay Part 2 is a fitting and tender ending to the Hunger Games series based on Suzanne Collins’ books.  Most of Part 2 is very dark, and we lose key people during the battle to undermine the Capitol and get rid of President Snow (Sutherland).  The rebels, led by Alma Coin (Moore) with Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) as a figurehead, hope to establish a free state in which democracy is the rule.  Peeta (Hutcherson), whose mind got jumbled when he was captured by Snow, is angry and paranoid about Katniss, but with the support of the core group will gradually get things sorted out.

      Pursued by Snow’s troops and risking their lives avoiding pockets of embedded weapons throughout the city, Katniss and her group make their way to the Capitol to achieve their mission, forging the underground sewer system and hiding out in the Hunger Games’ former stylist Tigris’ lair for a short rest, they receive the announcement from Snow that the city is to be evacuated to the Capitol where they will receive food, clothing, and health care.  This seems like a perfect opportunity to get to the capital by disguising themselves in Tigris’ store of clothes, and they make their way in the midst of the crowds.

      Although they are still guarded and afraid, the group forges on, but sabotage and betrayals are still ahead.  Who will survive, and will they be able to accomplish their mission?

Director Francis Lawrence and screenplay writers Peter Craig and Danny Strong improved this production as compared to part 1; however, neither holds up to the exciting, creative work done with Catching Fire.  For some reason (and acknowledging that I have not read Collins’ books), Katniss is much more passive in 2 and 3 than she was in Catching Fire, where she was like a ball of fire.  I prefer the more heroic, three-dimensional version of her in the first installment.

        Lawrence is a fine actress and performs at her best here, given the script.  Hutcherson and Hemsworth, rival suitors for her affections, are also very good, and have a discussion about their rivalry, unaware that she is listening to them.  It is a sweet, heartfelt moment, and one of the only scenes where humor comes into play. 

        Brief glimpses of Harrelson, Sutherland, Moore, Banks, and Tucci are rewarding to see, artfully playing the significant characters we’ve come to know.  It was bittersweet to see the late Philip Seymour Hoffman looking as if he had just acted out his part.  How we miss him!

A fitting conclusion to a popular series of fantasy fiction.

Grade:  C By Donna R. Copeland