In Theaters: November 20, 2015

There are three wide releases this weekend.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

I'm not sure if you've heard of the Hunger Games franchise yet, but it's fairly popular around the world, and this is the last one!

In my personal journey with Jennifer Lawrence I started as a doubter.  I didn't think she was all she had been cracked up to be after landing the role of Katniss.  After Catching Fire (the second one) I became a fan.  Kind of a big fan, actually.  And now, after observing different things she's done or said in articles and stuff I am on the cusp of being a hater.  I'm not a hater yet, but I'm over it.  I don't think she's making good career choices.  She's done with this franchise, and in May she'll be done with her other big franchise, and she hasn't picked up any truly major roles outside of those franchises.  Mostly all she's done besides that is play in David O. Russell movies.  That's not enough to sustain her stardom.  It will fade unless she does more.

Anyway, in this, the fourth and final Hunger Games movie, I'm pretty sure the good guys win.  They fight and stuff, I don't really know the details.  But it is pretty exciting, and I do enjoy these movies.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and for some thematic material.

The Night Before

So three friends decide to go big - really big - the night before Christmas.  Including drugs, parties, and every Christmas tradition you can think of!  This one won me over when the trailer said "from the guys that brought you This is The End" . . . "Neighbors" . . . "and almost The Interview".

It's funny because Sony decided not to release The Interview in theaters and instead it went straight to all sorts of streaming services, because of the fiasco with North Korea.  In fact, The Interview was what caused the fiasco with North Korea.

Anyway, The Night before is rated R for drug use and language throughout, some strong sexual content and graphic nudity.

Secret in their Eyes

Nowadays every kind of movie has to be rehashed with female leads.  Even revenge thrillers.  We're getting an all-female Ghostbusters remake, teetering on the edge of an all-female Expendables wannabe, and now there's talk of an all-female Ocean's Eleven remake.  It's stupid.  This trend is stupid.

Secret in their Eyes is a revenge thriller.  Julia Roberts is a mother (and police officer) who loses her daughter, and eventually goes for revenge.

This one looks like Oscar bait to me.  Too much focus on performance, not enough on a compelling story.

Secret in their Eyes is rated PG-13 for thematic material involving disturbing violent content, language and some sexual references.

      Big Shot Critic