ByteSized Video Reviews #1: Ender’s Game

TJ is finally back for the new year and he’s bringing his review of ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ to you! All in all, Saving Mr. Banks is a charming film that you should see, even if it feels a bit like a Disney P.R. piece. But it’s okay because Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, and Colin Farrell do a wonderful job of bringing the film to life.

TJ walks through the good and the bad of ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’. Is it better than the first installment of this would-be trilogy? Though TJ questions the wisdom of making a trilogy out of a single book, TJ does think this installment is better. Martin Freeman continues to impress as Bilbo and overall, the pacing feels far better. This is one TJ recommends catching in the theater.

TJ fills you in on ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ from director Francis Lawrence. It is TJ’s opinion that this film improves upon the first in every possible way, even if it’s not without it’s flaws. The film is very emotional and heavy as you might expect at the mid-point of a story such as this one, but Francis Lawrence deftly brings this one safely in for a great landing one that will of course having coming back to the theaters for ‘Mocking Jay’.

In this episode, TJ steps back a few weeks to review a film that’s been out a little over a month since the film he wanted to see is in limited release and not playing in Nashville at this time. But Alfonso Cuaron’s ‘Gravity’ is a great film and worthy of a little more attention. So TJ dives in with his thoughts on Sandra Bullock’s performance, the majesty and beauty of the film despite being so CGI heavy, the intensity and more.

In this episode, TJ gives his brief review of ‘Thor: The Dark World’, and why it’s much better than the first film. In fact, it’s a pretty good Marvel film in general. It features great chemistry between Thor and Jane, plenty of fun and humor, plenty of seriousness, and a lot of Loki. What’s not to like? Of course it’s not all roses as there are "some" issues.

In this inaugural episode, TJ reviews Ender’s Game. He found it to be fun and enjoyed it, but also found it lacking. The pacing was off and important things were left out of the film while unimportant things were kept. But it was still a lot of fun and it is recommended. 3.5 of 5 stars.