Mockingjay: Part 1

Expository non-plot hardly whistles by as the capital pays the bird to remain flightless in the hopes of raking in more Pan-Emerican dollars.  Meanwhile the rebels leak a host of nude photos to raise public awareness, while Gale gets stormier, Peeta gets thinner, and Julianne regrets not making better contacts.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Apparently the game-makers caught and fired whoever did the Shakicam to part 1, because this sequel is well choreographed and crisply shot.  With deeper character development, larger cast, and imaximum number of digital tricks, the only thing extinguishing this fire’s sure victory is a twisty spoiler of a ship-sized plothole.

The Expendables 2

Both the action and the self-referential jokes work better than discardable predecessor.  Additions of Van Damme and Norris infuse film with jolts of life and camp.  Li drops out too soon, but Willis and Schwarzenegger bring exactly the right kind of fun.  Biggest failure is from makeup department; why try?