The Hunger Games Catching Fire

ACTION/ADVENTURE

Girl Still On Fire

8.75 out of 10 | Movie and DVD

---

Rated: PG-13  For intense sequences of violence and action, some frightening images, thematic elements, a suggestive situation and language
Release Date: November 22, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 26 minutes

---

Director: Francis Lawrence
Writers: Simon Beaufoy, Michael Arndt, based on the novel 'Catching Fire' by Suzanne Collins
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Jack Quaid, Taylor St. Clair, Woody Harrelson, Josh Hutcherson, Willow Shields, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Lynn Cohen, Jena Malone

---

Watch Trailer

SYNOPSIS:  Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.

REVIEW: Francis Lawrence, director of I Am Legend and the upcoming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay films, takes over the reins from Gary Ross and brings Katniss and Peeta back to the games. Simon Beaufoy (127 Hours) and Michael Arndt (Oblivion) adapt the second book from Suzanne  Collins in the hopes that the tributes from District 12 can survive.

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, X-Men: First Class) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson, Epic) have returned to Panem's District 12 as victors of the 74th Hunger Games. Living in the Victors Village, the best homes in the desolate community, Katniss still desires to leave with Gale (Liam Hemsworth, The Expendables 2) into the forest and away from the rule and oppression of President Snow and the Capitol. Sensing an uprising in the Districts, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) urges Katniss to portray the 'in love' winner with Peeta to quell the ideas of rebellion. When their victors tour results in squabbling crowds and unrest, Snow changes the rules of the game by announcing that the 75th Hunger Games, the 3rd Quarter Quell, will reap its tributes from the past winners of the event. Peeta and Katniss are forced back into the fray as the games commence, banding together with some if the other tributes in order to stay alive and to remember who the real enemy is.

Jennifer Lawrence returns as the reluctant heroine Katniss in the second of the Hunger Games series. No longer novices from the first film, Katniss and Hutcherson's Peeta better understand the political machine behind the oppression and fear of the Capitol and the presidency. Katniss sees graffiti of her signature mockingjay everywhere she goes, signifying a change in attitude of the populace against the government. Winning the 74th Hunger Games in front of the entire world with the virtue of love and sacrifice has sparked a faint, but strengthening, life of hope throughout the Districts.

A darker and more stark entry, Catching Fire starts by reintroducing Katniss and Peeta in the aftermath of winning the Hunger Games. Winners of the games and living a slightly better life than their District 12 neighbors, the pair suffers a strained relationship as each tries to rationalize their true feelings. Katniss still loves Gale, Peeta pines for Katniss, and President Snow desires the continued success of his rule in the Capitol and over the Districts. More entrenched with politics and subterfuge, Katniss and the others have to deal with more painful emotions and the realization that they are again forced to fight against an almost infallible opponent.

Jennifer Lawrence has an even more raw edge in her second outing as Katniss. Josh Hutcherson, as Peeta, shows that he is not just that defenseless young man from the 74th games, growing into his role as a leader and defender of District 12 and Katniss. Under-appreciated Woody Harrelson shines as Haymitch, the tortured former winner of the Games. He straddles the line between gifted diplomat and ragged alcoholic. Effie Trinket, played by Elizabeth Banks, is softer and more humanized, showing that living in the shine and decadence of the Capitol does not necessarily mean that she has no heart. Philip Seymour Hoffman steps in as the new games master Plutarch Heavensbee. Sutherland and Tucci are phenomenal in their returning roles.

From a fairly faithful adaptation of the book, to superb performances by a stellar cast, to a story that seems to start off as a retread but ends up with intrigue, action, pain and suspense, Catching Fire takes The Hunger Games to the next level. Katniss may be the Girl on Fire, but she may set all of Panem ablaze.

---

Red Dawn (2012)

Wolverines! Redux

---

Rated: PG-13 Intense action, language and intense war violence
Release Date: November 2, 2012
Runtime:  TBD

---

Director: Dan Bradley
Writers: Carl Ellsworth, Jeremy Passmore, based on the original movie by Kevin Reynolds and Jihn Milius
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Adrianne Palicki, Josh Hutcherson, Isabel Lucas, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Brett Cullen

---

---

SYNOPSIS: The quiet town of Spokane, Washington is invaded by North Korean forces, putting the strategic location under Marshall law. Only a small band of high schoolers and a marine on leave escape and start fighting back.

REVIEW: Dan Bradley, long time stunt coordinator on such films as Crank and the Matt Damon Bourne trilogy and second unit director of films like Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and Green Zone, steps up to the director's chair with the long-shelved remake of the 1984 Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen film Red Dawn. Carl Ellsworth (Disturbia) and Jeremy Passmore (Special) rewrite the Kevin Reynolds and John Milius story, exchanging Colorado for Washington and the snowy mountains for a more urban setting.

After six years in the Marines, Jed Eckert (Chris Hemsworth, The Cabin in the Woods) returns on leave to join his quarterback brother Matty (Josh Peck, Aliens in the Attic) and widowed sheriff father Tom (Brett Cullen, The Dark Knight Rises) in the Washington city of Spokane. One early morning, soldiers parachute from the sky and military vehicles and equipment rolls through the streets. Escaping in his truck with his brother, Robert (Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games), Daryl (Connor Cruise, Seven Pounds) and others, Jed evades the North Korean armies to their cabin in the woods outside of the city. Picking up other teen stragglers Toni (Adrianne Palicki, Legion), Danny (Edwin Hodge, Big Momma's House), and out-of-towners Julie (Alyssa Diaz, Shark Night 3D) and Victor (Julian Alcaraz, Haywire). Soon realizing that the invading armies will not just leave them alone, Jed and the others decide to take the fight to the North Koreans. Outfitting everyone in the group, Jed trains the boys and girls to be guerrilla fighters and sets them against the occupying forces in the city. Quickly becoming a nuisance to Captain Lo (Will Yun Lee, Torque), the prefect of the territory including Spokane, Lo makes it his mission to capture or kill the terrorists calling themselves Wolverines, named after the high school's mascot.

Director Dan Bradley takes several risks by taking on this film. The 1984 Red Dawn was the first film emblazoned with the MPAA's new PG-13 rating. For many, including me, Swayze's Red Dawn was an iconic film mixing a Brat Pack sensibility within the confines of a war drama. In the height of the Cold War/Reagan Era, Red Dawn was one of the last scripts to play on America's fear of the unknown entities behind the Iron Curtain. Swayze, Sheen, Howell, Thompson, and Grey were, or were to become, premiere young actors of their generation - my generation. And in 2009, the film started out with the invading force defined with the Chinese as the evil-doers. But as real world politics came into play in that year with the lending of money and support to the USA, it seemed that keeping the casting of the Chinese as the aggressors was a bad idea. Instead, the studio spent a million dollars to CG out the Chinese and CG in the North Koreans. A better choice, I think. What era did they think we were in, the Cold War? In 2009, North Korea and the Middle East were better villains than the Chinese.

With the risk comes rewards. Bradley takes the script from Ellsworth and Passmore, adds in his own expertise with action and created a relevant film with current ties to real world issues and fears. Communism is still a valid threat in today's world, but the fear of economist collapse is far more real and tangible and has affected many for citizens than McCarthy-ism ever did. The team keeps some of the conic scenes offered up in the original, including Jed staring out at the wilderness with the hood of his sweat jacket up, a classic scene with a fallen deer, and freedom fighters hidden in hidey holes ready to cut down the enemy. The rest the film runs a parallel line to the original plot, both subtle and obvious. The mountains of Colorado are replaced with the wooded hills of Washington state. The battles of the snowy plateaus are replaced with high rise office buildings and a more urban setting. In this version, the Wolverines take the fight to the enemy instead of the other way around.

In general, the story is the same. But the action sequences in the new version plays to the director's strengths. From the initial chase and escape in their Ford F1500 from the North Koreans to each insurgent act the Wolverines attempt and pull off, the 2012 version rocks the gun battles and fight sequences harder than the original. Gone are the 1980's cliche drawn out 'go on without me' death scenes in favor of the quick senseless killings that real war involves. From the fly-over of heavy transport planes dropping paratroopers, to an ending that does NOT involve a monument to the fallen members of the guerrilla soldiers, there is enough new and current content to satisfy the somewhat jaded reboot/remake-phobs.

All being equal, Red Dawn does have a couple issues. First off, the money spent on CGI to mask the Chinese into North Koreans works fine on flags, banners and military equipment, but fails to deliver when the characters, who originally were speaking Chinese with subtitles, are dubbed over with Korean with subtitles. Some may not notice, but I felt like the voice track was off as the words did not match the mouths they came from. Secondly, the enemy in the remake is kept, for good or bad, a more faceless villain. In the original, even the commanders had some heart. In the remake, they are just following orders without compunction.

Red Dawn (2012) is a relevant war drama tailored to the economic and electronic age. With great action sequences, a decent story, some humor, and a bevy of young, hot up-and-coming actors and actresses, this film may never become the iconic classic that the original was, but it is still worthy of a look if you like this type of film. Wolverines!!!!!

---

WORTH: Matinee or DVD

Detention

The Future, and Past, is at Stake

---

Rated: R  Some teen drinking, language, bloody violence, drug use, crude and sexual content and nudity
Release Date: April 13, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 29 mins

---

Director: Joseph Kahn
Writers:  Joseph Kahn, Mark Palermo
Cast: Josh Hutcherson, Dane Cook, Spencer Locke, Shanley Caswell, Aaron Perilo, Will Wallace, Parker Bagley, Marque Richardson, Alison Woods, Aaron David Johnson

---

---

SYNOPSIS: Based around the self-proclaimed sucky high school life of a girl named Riley, the girl and her friends have to deal with the threat of a supposed serial killer ripped from the silver screen named Cinderhella.

REVIEW: Joseph Kahn, a busy music video director with video shorts under his belt from Blink 182 and Garbage, plus the 2004 bike flick Torque, co-writes Detention with The Killing of Kings short scribe Mark Palermo. Filled with 90s references, space ships, magnetic stuffed grizzly bears, possible time-travel, a serial killer copying a popular film franchise, teenage angst, and more, Detention has all the crazy ideas of a music video rolled up into a 89 minute film.

A copy cat serial killer using the guise of Cinderhella takes down the most popular girl Taylor Fisher (Alison Wood, Superhero Movie) at Grizzly High as she tries to educate the audience as to the list to follow to become like her. Once dispatched, Riley Jones (Shanley Caswell, Snow White: A Deadly Summer) takes over the narrative. Personally plagued by the same serial killer, she cannot convince her friends or the authorities that she is a target. Her former best friend Ione (Spencer Locke, Resident Evil: Afterlife) has taken up with Riley's best guy friend Clapton Davis (Josh Hutcherson, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) while Ione's former boyfriend Billy Nolan (Parker Bagley, A Nightmare on Elm Street - 2010) looks to beat the crap out of him. Sander S. Sanderson (Aaron David Johnson, Finding Hope) pines away for Riley. Toshida (Jonathan Park) tries to complete an absurd class project to build a time machine. Along the way, body-swapping, fly-infused blood, spacecraft, and time-travel all come together to try and combat Cinderhella before she takes any more victims.

Detention is a one of those film that will probably achieve cult status one day. The characters break the fourth wall a la Ferris Bueller's Day Off, speaking directly to the audience with helpful hints and witty asides. Adding to the visual style as if Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer and Zombieland had a child riddled with A.D.D., Taylor take a break to secretly fill us in with important information assisted by colorful graphical list presentations. And if mentored by Quentin Tarantino himself, we are treated to title cards such as 'The Lonely Ballad of Elliot Fink' to kick off various vignettes that either fill in the blanks of the story or confuse us even more.

In order to not be confined to any specific genre, Kahn and Palmero spin us a tale filled with time-travel, serial killers, all-too-self-aware teens, craft from outer space, unrequited love, a highly magnetic taxidermy bear, and a kid who has been in detention every school day for nineteen years. Does the story seem plausible? One would think not, but the writers and director manage to put together a story as believable as anything that came out of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. But where Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted Logan had only deal with the issues of space/time along with rampant historical figures, Detention weaves a tapestry where nothing makes sense but works out somehow at the end.

It could be that I am getting too old for films like this. I did laugh out loud a few times, but the younger girls in the quarter-occupied theater seemed to enjoy it quite a bit more, as well as understanding its spot in the cinematic canon. I do remember wanting my MTV, but I am probaly out of the loop as to the current trend in music videos. I can relate to Kahn's references of The Breakfast Club, and other 90s John Hughes films, but some of the visual gags and dialogue went by so quick, I could not catch up to it before the next setup was already in place.

I will have to say, though, that Kahn, Palermo and DP know how to frame and move a shot. In the detention scene in the library, when Elliot Fink (Walter Perez, Inhale) says he has been in detention every day for nineteen years, his flashback through the years shouts out the styles and musical anthems of each era, making us realize that what the Beautiful, Intelligent, Talented, Charismatic, Hoobastank loving Taylor at the opening of the film was trying to tell us. She talks about how her favorite band on the poster above her bed is uber-hot at that moment of shooting the film, but will be selling out toilet stalls with mops in hand by the time the film releases. The generational gap is giving ways to ever increasing changes in fashion, style, music and technology within a single generation, as I am sure that Joseph Kahn is aware.

Kahn completes a seemingly disjointed, spacey film. But when the smoke clears and the blood stops dripping down the school lockers, Detention is a clever effort. I may be reading a more poignant message from the film than Kahn was looking to deliver, but the campy self-aware hodge podge seemed to speak to me as if my older self had traveled back in time to educate me of Detention's cultural significance in the future.

---

WORTH: Rental

The Hunger Games

The World Will Be Watching

---

Rated: PG-13   Intense violent thematic material and disturbing images - all involving teens.
Release Date: March 23, 2012
Runtime: 2 hrs 22 mins

---

Director: Gary Ross
Writers:  Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins, Billy Ray
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Wes Bentley, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland

---

---

SYNOPSIS:  Each year, the Capitol of Panam requires each of its 12 Districts to subject one boy and one girl to compete in the Hunger Games, where the twenty-four Tributes must fight to the death until only one competitor remains.

REVIEW: Gary Ross, writer and director of Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, has proven that he understands the minds of youth and the perils and pitfalls of the competitors of sporting events. Taking the characters from the first book in 'The Hunger Games' trilogy written by Suzanne Collins, Gary Ross, Billy Ray (State of Play), and Suzanne Collins herself bring the inhabitants of Panam (a future ruined North America), its Capitol, its surrounding districts, and the competitors in the annual Hunger Games to life.

In District 12, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, X-Men: First Class) cares for and hunts for her sister Primrose (Willow Shields, Beyond the Blackboard) and widowed mother, and toys with the notion of leaving the district with her friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth, Knowing). As the 74th Annual Hunger Games approaches, representatives from the Capitol headed by Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks,  The Next Three Days) come to the district for the Reaping, the selection of one boy and one girl between the ages of fourteen and seventeen to serve as Tributes for the game. Every family's request for government assistance asked for during the year between games equates to an additional ballot for one of the family's children of age. When Primrose is selected as District 12's female tribute, Katniss volunteers. Also selected from the district as the male tribute is Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island). Together they accompany Effie back to the Capitol to prepare for the Game. Drunkard Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson, Zombieland), tormented winner of the 50th Hunger Games, is selected to mentor and prepare the pair for the televised fight to the death. Joining the District 12 prep team is stylist Cinna (Lenny Kravitz, Precious) and District 12 representative Effie. During training, Katniss and Peeta prove they are not simple poor district trash, and that they may be contestants to contend with. Although there are 24 Tributes in total, the most arrogant and cable competitors are embodied in District 1 tributes Marvel (Jack Quaid), and Glimmer (Leven Rambin, One Tree Hill) and District 2 tributes Cato (Alexander Ludwig, Race to Witch Mountain) and Clove (Isabelle Fuhrman, Orphan), 'Careers' who train their entire youth to compete. Once the games begin, Peeta and Katniss are on their own in a camera-filled, electronically-controlled, forested domed death arena.

Starting with the characters, Jennifer Lawrence ended up being an excellent choice for Katniss. Athletic and strong, the Katniss character still exudes innocent and resistance to the status quo of the Games. Hutcherson plays Peeta with strength and cockiness, until he realized he is really in over his head. Stanley Tucci (Captain America: The First Avenger) and his blue hair add the glitz and glamour as the Hunger Games Master of Ceremony and co-anchorman Caesar Flickerman, seeming like the Ryan Seacrest of a failed dystopian future. While Caesar comes to the screen as the bright shiny face of The Hunger Games, Wes Bentley (Gone) and his orchestrated beard directs a team of producers and technicians to capture every moment of the televised games and, sometimes, change the unscripted event with some additions and nudges of his own. Eiizabeth Banks is nearly unrecognizable as the powdered-face, geisha-painted lipped, Effie. The other stand-outs are Amandia Stenberg as the petite, pint-sized Tribute Rue (Colombiana) and the barely-seen but important Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne. And Donald Sutherland's President Snow, although soft-spoken, carries with him an experience and political and personal agenda that will certainly be explored further in the additional films.

I will be the first to admit that I never heard of Susan Collins trilogy of Scholastic books until The Hunger Game film was announced. And as a true cinest, I did not want to jump on the book reading bandwagon for fear that my movie going experience would be tarnished with ruined story plots and blown surprise reveals. In spite of that admission, I will admit that I did bone up on my Panam universe history just to be prepared for the Hunger Games. Ross, Ray and Collins do successfully recreate the written word from Collins' first Katniss novel into a freshman film that does not lessen the experience for the uninitiated. From the locales to the costumes to the actors and characters, The Hunger Games is something to behold. Maybe a little lengthy and slow for my taste (please do not crucify me, 'Hunger Game' book fans!), I do realize that several secondary characters and scenes from the original book were downplayed in order to keep the most important elements. I also realize that a few scenes were quick and concise to get important story points across to the audience, and to keep the film propelling forward.

With intense scenes like the start of the 74th Hunger Games at the Cornucopia followed by retreats and periods of waiting with Katniss roped onto a high canopy tree limb, the story did have periods that were a little uneven for me. The character development of Katniss and Peeta through the course of the game did help to keep my interest between fights in the last act. Knowing that it was important to focus on Katniss during the games, I did find that Seneca Crane and his televised reality show production got a little forgotten for a time toward the end.

The Hunger Games hype is sweeping across the country as the film opened to a non-sequel box office record breaker for its opening night midnight screenings. Will The Hunger Games replace the Twilight Saga as the next big thing once Breaking Dawn: Part 2 premieres this November? First it was Harry Potter, then Twilight, now The Hunger Games. If the box office is any indication, that very well may be the case.

---

WORTH: Matinee and DVD

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

Worth the Trip

---

Rated: PG  Brief mild language and some adventure action.
Release Date: February 10, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

---

Director: Brad Peyton

Writers: Brian Gunn, Mark Gunn, Richard Outten, based on the materials from Jules Verne
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Luis Guzman, Vanessa Hudgens, Kristin Davis

---

---

SYNOPSIS: Seventeen-year-old Sean Anderson decodes a 'Vernian' message that leads him, his step-father Hank, and a helicopter pilot and his daughter on an adventure to a mysterious island in the middle of the South Pacific that supposedly does not exist.

REVIEW: Director Brad Peyton, known for the spy games that go along with Cat and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, jumps onboard to go big with a screenplay by Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn (Bring It On Again) from a story by the writing duo and Richard Outten (Pet Sematary II). Based on the characters and locales of the acclaimed 19th Century science fiction and fantasy writer Jules Verne, Peyton returns with a more grown up Sean Anderson from the previously released Journey to the Center of the Earth, shooting the film entirely in 3D. 

A seventeen-year-old Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson, Journey to the Center of the Earth) stumbles upon a decoded 'Vernian' transmission that he believes will lead him to his grandfather Alexander (Michael Caine, The Dark Knight) and the mysterious island that Jules Verne wrote about. Together with his mother's husband Hank (Dwayne Johnson, Fast Five), Sean decodes the message and heads to the South Pacific to track down the coordinates one hundred miles off the coast. While no one else will risk the trip out to the middle of the ocean, tour helicopter pilot Gabato (Luis Guzman, Arthur) and his daughter Kailani (Venessa Hudgens, Sucker Punch) take advantage of Sean's desperation and American dollars. Heading to the coordinates, the helicopter goes down in the middle of a hurricane and crashes on the shoreline of the island Sean has been seeking. Moving inland, they marvel at the size of tiny elephants and giant butterflies, fight off and run from giant lizards, and run into Sean's adventurer grandfather Alexander. But the family reunions are cut short when Hank realizes that the island is about ready to sink back into the ocean, years ahead of schedule. At that point, adventuring is replaced by the need for survival and to get off the island before it sinks 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Shot entirely using sophisticated 3D camera rigs and mostly on location in Oahu, Hawaii, Peyton uses the depth of the technology plus great special visual effects to produce a colorful storybook landscape filled with miniature pachyderms, bees large enough to ride like horses, lizards as big as a bus but five times as mean, and cascading waterfalls over jagged cliffs misting over architecture that could be the lost continent of Atlantis. Similar in tone and visuals to Journey to the Center of the Earth, the environments and predators are unreal enough to appeal to young PG audiences without being too overwhelming or scary, all the while giving parents enough to enjoy as well.

Dwayne Johnson is his usual good natured, capable self, winning most over with his big smile and bigger physique. As always, he carries himself with confidence and an easy swagger that comes second nature. But while Johnson's Hank becomes Gabato's idol, he doesn't win over Michael Caine's Alexander at all. Alexander considers years of adventuring much more worthy of praise than being a former-Navy, current family man with a construction business taking care of Sean's mother, and trying to look out for Sean. Although still a teenager, Sean considers himself an adventurer in his own right. He survived the center of the earth with his uncle Trevor four years ago and thinks himself his own man. Of course, he does fall for the beautiful pilot's daughter, Kailani, unable to win her over with his adventurer's abilities. With three alpha males, one alpha female, and Gabato, there is plenty of tension to go around that does not have anything to do with the island and its beautiful and dangerous inhabitants. Not being an alpha himself, Gabato does bring plenty of pratfalls and a smearing of scatological humor to his chagrin and the audience's grins.

Jules Verne provides the bulk of the source material for the film, inspiring a storyline with references to 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea' and 'The Mysterious Island'. In addition, the story references Jonathan Swift's 'Gulliver's Travels' and Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Robinson Crusoe' and 'Treasure Island'. In fact, part of the fun is combining the three books regarding islands from the three authors into a single piece of untangled deciphered code. In Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Jules Verne's nineteenth century visionary stories, filled with submarines and creatures of all disproportionate sizes, make for a grand fun adventure for kids of all ages.

In IMAX 3D, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island takes full advantage of the technology. From dizzying aerial chases in the clouds and through the tree between bees and predatory birds trying to eat them (and their human riders), to a mother lizard angry that puny humans broke one of her baby eggs, to Hank's 3D opportunity to have Sean throw berries against his patent-pending 'pec pop of love',  Journey 2 is a fun fast thrill-ride. And even though there is no villain to the story, the island provides enough predatory and tectonic peril for our heroes and semi-heroes (sorry, Gabato!) to overcome as they try to escape the island before the ocean rushes over its shores.

A visual crowd-pleaser, kids of all ages with enjoy the clean, fast fun of this PG film. You may be able to do without the expense of the IMAX 3D, but it certainly adds a layer of thrills that you may lose in regular 2D. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island works as a good sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth, letting us continue our journey with the young Sean Anderson as he becomes the expert avid adventurer. And it may make your kids want to pick up a classic book or two afterward!

---

WORTH: Matinee and DVD (for the kids)