It takes a lot for me to see something new when I go to the movies. I have seen more than my share of movies so I have seen damn near everything there is to see when it comes to characters, plots, twists and so on. Normally the previous sentences would lead into me writing that the movie I am about to review was something new and exciting. Not this time. “Battle: LA” crams every war movie cliché into its relative short run time. For some reason, I found it entertaining.
Aliens attack Earth. This movie takes place in Los Angeles. How’s that for a plot synopsis?
Let’s run through the clichés that “Battle: LA” provides.
The hero is about to retire but is pulled back in for one last mission.
He is also well known for a botched mission.
One of the soldiers is an expecting father.
One just lost his brother in the hero’s botched mission.
One is going to be married.
They just happen to come across a solider that is an expert in the very thing that they need to bring down the bad guys.
It has speeches about honor and duty.
It has civilians being told to be brave in the face of insurmountable odds.
It was so predictable that I was actually shocked that the hero did not give his life in the end to save his men.
I should have hated this movie. I did not love it, but I actually enjoyed it. It was mindless fun. Sometimes, that is all I need from a movie.
5 out of 10
Rated PG-13 for sustained and intense sequences of war violence and destruction, and for language.
116 min
This past week it was announced that Jennifer Lawrence, a best actress nominee for “Winters Bone,” was going to play Katniss Everdeen in the movie adaptation of “The Hunger Games.” And some fans were outraged. They said that they could not see Lawrence playing the Katniss because she is too old, her body type is not right and she does not really fit the physical description.
I call shenanigans on those people.
I recently tore my way through the three books in the trilogy and they are awesome. They are ripe for the silver screen and I look forward to the films.
The one thing that these people are missing is that it does not matter if the person in question is to old, to blond, or to tall. All that matters—and I mean ALL that matters—is can they act. Everything else is just details.
This happens every time there is a casting announcement. People hear a name that they do not think immediately fits with whatever idea they had in their head and they go crazy about how the movie is going to be bad because of the casting. They really need to calm down at times like this. The movie has not been shot yet and people loose their minds.
They say she is too curvy to play Katniss, who is skinny because to starvation. Have they not seen Christian Bale in “The Fighter” or “The Mechanic.” The human body can undergo changes like that. As for Katniss’ straight dark hair, grey eyes and olive skin…its call makeup people! Dye some hair, throw on some contacts and all of a sudden you have Katniss.
The only issue I really have is the age thing. Some of the power in the book is that this 16-year-old girl has so much strength. She is a role model to young girls everywhere. It is important that she be young, but not the end of the world.
Lawrence proved that she could not only act, but also carry a movie and get nominated for it. I am completely fine with her in the role. She is a phenomenal actress. Just watch “Winters Bone.” So much was required of her as Rea. She had to be strong, smart, brave, and vulnerable. Katniss has to be all these things and more, so I think Lawrence will do a pretty damn good job.
That being said, my pick for the role would have been the actress who SHOULD have won Best Supporting Actress this past year— Hallie Steinfeld. She can easily do everything that is required of Katniss. Since they cast Jennifer Lawrence I will be intrigued and look forward to see how she pulls it off. If they cast my pick of Hallie Steinfeld, I will be overjoyed and be more excited for the movie.
In the grand scheme of things none of it matters. Jennifer Lawrence could be terrible and the movie could be the worst thing put on film in the history of Hollywood. In the end fans will still have the books that they love. I know that regardless of how the movie ends up, the books I have are going nowhere and nothing could ruin them for me.
So lighten up people.
