★★☆☆☆

Does anybody else feel completely ripped off with Mockingjay Part 1?  I really should say “half a movie” because that is all it was.  We have far too many MBAs in this country.  All of them seem to be trying to sell people a great big nothing.  Instead of one good movie we will now get two, perhaps three, not-worth-an-afternoon-if-they-are-free movies.  It’s sad.  So very sad.  Everything is becoming Walmart quality, worth neither time nor money.

Yes, Jennifer Lawrence does a good job playing Katniss Everdeen again. Yes, Philip Seymour Hoffman was a gifted actor who can choose to be the center of the screen or invisible in his character at will. Yes, I was saddened when his re-awakened addiction caused him to leave us far too soon. Yes, the special effects were good.

Having said all of that I still felt cheated when the Mockingjay Part 1 finished. Since I waited until this movie came out on DVD I saw it long after Mr. Hoffman’s death which made me feel even more cheated. Had they not tried to stretch this into a two movie thing, he would have been working through to the end.

See review of Part 2 here.

Big budget seems to be industry speak for Big Rip-off. This has become a disturbing trend with franchise movies. Trying to water things down and stretch them out over multiple installments. I’ve got to wonder just how long it will be until paying customers avoid anything put out by a major studio? Yeah, you feel that cheated, especially if you watch both parts.

For more movie rental ideas please see list one and list two.