Allegiant bores with too much CGI

Movie Title:      The Divergent Series: Allegiant

Grade:   D

Rating:   PG-13, 2 hours 19 minutes

In a Nutshell:    Filled with TONS of CGI and special effects, this third installment in the Divergent franchise stretches out the story probably more than it should.

You definitely need to have seen the first two movies in the series in order to understand what the heck is going on in this one.  This isn’t really a stand-alone movie.

Click here to read my movie reviews  for Divergent and Insurgent and be sure to watch the movies in the correct order so they make more sense. 

Uplifting theme: 

•  “Great leaders don’t seek power.  They’re called out of necessity.” – Johanna (Octavia Spencer)
• What do we do when we lose our humanity?
• ‘I don’t know who told you that being different was a bad thing…” –  David (Jeff Daniels)
• “Maybe it’s time to start embracing everyone instead of dividing them into groups.” - Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley)

Things I liked:

• Shaleilene Woodley looks more grown up and beautiful.  Super cute hair cut.
• I liked the concept of the cool bubble things that surround people and allow them to float, although it definitely looked CGI and fake.

Things I didn’t like:

• Everything looks fake.  While “Star Wars Awakens” used a lot of CGI, they were successfully able to create enough real sets that made the scenes truly believable.
• Characters are paper thin.  
• Lots of crowds of extras yelling and shaking their fists halfheartedly.
• “Purify the human genome” sounds a lot like what Hitler was trying to do…
• That’s hilarious that the other side of the wall has such advanced technology, yet a lot of their areas still look like beat up warehouses.
• The chase scene towards the end was super fake and lame.
• Some of the actors seemed as bored as the audience.

Funny lines:

•  “This is fun.  I’m glad we did this.” – Peter (Miles Teller) 

Interesting lines:

• “You are the only one worth saving.” - David
• “Hello.  I come from outside the wall, where we have all but destroyed each other.” – narrator
• "We created factions to create peace.” - narrator    (What kind of logic is that?)
• “Sometimes walls are designed to protect us.” – announcement lady on screen
• “It’s impossible.” – Tori (Maggie Q)       “So.” – Tris

• “People are sheep and they need a shepherd to guide them…and when they resist, they are slaughtered.” – Max (Mekhi Phifer)
• “Why did you go to war with Janine if you were just going to become her?” – Four (Theo James) 

Tips for parents:   

• Point blank shooting in the head.
• You see Shalene’s naked body (silhouette)  in the dark.
• Lots of shooting, explosions, fighting
• Dead bodies on the ground
• No profanity.

See Divergent before you see Insurgent

Movie:  Insurgent

PG-13, 1 hour 59 minutes

Grade:              B

In a Nutshell:  Veronica Roth’s Young Adult Dystopian sequel picks up right where it left off in the first movie, Divergent.  If you haven’t seen it, watch it before you see this second part; otherwise, you won’t understand a lot of what’s going on.  It doesn't work as a stand-alone movie. You can read my movie review of Divergent here.

Uplifting Theme:

·         Sacrifice, forgiveness, fighting injustice

·         “I know you’re angry, but you’re letting it consume you.” – Johanna (the fabulous and underutilized in this movie Octavia Spencer)

Things I liked:

·         Lots of action and cool 3D special effects.

·         It was nice to see Daniel Dae Kim again from Lost - The Complete First Season .

·         I love twists and surprises in movies…

Things I didn’t like:

·         The plot has changed a bit from the books, but if you haven’t read the books, you won’t care.

·         Shailene Woodley’s character (Tris Prior) is either crying or super intense with not much in between.  The only development in her character from the first movie is that she cut her hair.

Interesting lines:

·         “I’m not gonna fight you.” – Tris Prior

“Of course, you’re not.  You’re gonna fight you.” – Jeanine Mathews (Kate Winslet)

·         “It just goes to show, you can take the girl out of abnegation, but you can’t take abnegation  out of the girl.” – Peter (Miles Teller)

Tips for Parents:

·         Some profanity and an implied sex scene between Tris and Four after passionate kissing.

·         1 F-bomb with very little other profanity.

Quick review of the 5 factions from their Manifestos:

Abnegation (The Selfless): “I choose to turn away from my reflection, to rely not on myself but on my brothers and sisters to protect always outward until I disappear.”

Erudite (The Intelligent): “Ignorance is defined not as stupidity, but as lack of knowledge.  Lack of knowledge inevitably leads to lack of understanding.  Lack of understanding leads to a disconnect among people with differences.  Disconnection among people with differences lead to conflict.  Knowledge is the only logical solution to the problem of conflict.

Dauntless (The Brave): We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.  We believe in shouting for those who can only whisper, in defending those who cannot defend themselves.”

Amity  (The Peaceful): “Give freely, trusting that you will be given what you need.  Do not be angry.  The opinions of others cannot damage you.  Cruel thoughts lead to cruel words, and hurt you as much as they hurt their target.”

Candor (The Honest):  Although Candor values honesty above all else, they also seek to develop impartiality.

       

The Fault in Our Stars has very few faults

Movie Title:  The Fault in Our Stars

PG-13, 2 hours 5 minutes

Grade:  A-

In a Nutshell:   I’m going to have to read this book.  The movie is based on the #1 bestselling novel by John Green and only whets your appetite with meaty nuggets of wisdom about life and love.  Get your tissues ready.  The movie starts with Hazel Grace, a teenager who battles every day with lung cancer: “I believe we have a choice in this world about how to tell sad stories.  One the one hand, you can sugar-coat it, the way they do in movies and romance novels for beautiful people to learn beautiful lessons, when nothing’s too messed up that can’t be fixed with an apology or a Peter Gabriel song.  I like that version as much as the next girl does, believe me.  It’s just not the truth.  This is the truth.  Sorry.”

Uplifting theme: 

• They say you can write your own eulogy.  How?  Write what you want to happen in your life and then live it.
• Death is unbearable, but so is living a life without love and less than what you are capable of.
• There is an honesty to the way people with incurable diseases live.  Unlike the rest of us who pretend that we can have as many days and nights as we want, those who stare death in the face every day truly understand the value of time.
• The movie isn’t so much about dying, but living in the face of death and after a loved one dies.

Things I liked:

• As an author myself, I loved the part of the story that features Hazel Grace’s relationship with a writer of a book she is obsessed with.  I love the title of the book “Imperial Affliction” and the fact that the story ends in the middle of a sentence. Hazel says “It’s so truthful.  You just die.  You die in the middle of a sentence.”
• I loved Augustus’ cigarette metaphor: “They don’t kill you unless you light them, and I’ve never lit one.  It’s a metaphor.  See, you put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don’t give it the power to do its killing.  A metaphor.”  Not that I would go so far as to buy cigarettes to put between my lips, but I love the feeling of empowerment and defiance that image evokes.
• I loved seeing the bridges in Amsterdam that Hazel and Gus sailed underneath.  It’s on my Bucket List.
• I thought it was cute that two of the couples in the movie have a word they lovingly repeated to each other like “always” or Hazel and Gus’ “OK.”  One word can say so much.
• I liked Hazel and Gus’ conversation about believing in something after this life.  Gus said he absolutely did…“Otherwise, what’s the point?”
• It’s always great to see Willem Dafoe in anything.
• There is warmth, humor, and honesty in the story-telling.  Cancer weepies can often be too contrived and manipulative, but there is enough snark and wisdom in this film to pull it off.

Things I didn’t like:

• Only in Chick Flicks do teenage boys fall all over themselves to win a girl’s affection.  Guys: take note…it works every time.
• The music tends to cue you on when to cry, but you do it anyway.
• Call me an old fuddy-duddy, but I really hate watching pre-marital sex scenes.  I also hate it when people make fun of well-intentioned Christians, like Hazel and Gus do in their cancer therapy session when their group leader starts singing to give them hope.

Did you know?

• The imaginative playground with the skeleton where Hazel and Gus have a picnic is actually located on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and is called “Funky Bones.”
• Dozens of web sites have been created by fans who want to continue talking about this book and movie.
• Sheilene Woodley (Hazel Grace) and Ansel Elgort (Augustus) did a fantastic job.  They played brother and sister in Divergent and have great chemistry together.  Sheilene admits they have more of a brother-sister relationship in real life…not romantic.  You can read my movie review about Divergent here.

Interesting lines:

• “That’s the thing about pain: it demands to be felt.”   - Augustus
• “I wouldn’t mind.  It would be my privilege to have my heart broken by you.”  - Augustus
• “I’m a grenade.  One day I’m going to explode and obliterate everything in my wake and I don’t know…It’s just my responsibility to minimize the casualties.”  - Hazel Grace
• “Everything’s coming up Waters.”  - Hazel Grace
• “You two are so adorable.”  - Mom

“We’re just friends.”  - Hazel Grace

 “Well, she is.  I’m not.” – Augustus

• The waiter in the beautiful Amsterdam restaurant asked Hazel Grace and Gus “Do you know what Don Perignon said after he invented champagne?”  “Come quickly!  I’m tasting the stars!”  The waiter then told them“We’ve bottled all the stars for you, my young friends.”
• “I want this Dragon Carrot Risotti to become a person so that I can take it to Vegas and marry it.”  - Gus
• “You’re American.”  - Van Houten’s assistant   

“Incurably so.”  - Author Peter  Van Houten

• “You gave me a forever within a numbered days and, for that, I am eternally grateful.”  - Hazel to Gus
• “If you want the rainbow, you have to deal with the rain.”  - sign that hangs on Gus’ wall at home.
• “Funerals are not for the dead.  They’re for the living.”  - Hazel Grace
• “You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world, but you do have a say in who hurts you and I like my choices.”  - Gus
• “I fell in love the way you fall asleep…slowly, then all at once.”  - Hazel
• “Embrace your destiny and leave your mark on the world.”  - Augustus

Funny lines:

• “So yeah, that just happened.  I’ve been trying to tell you… I’m kinda awesome.”  - Augustus
• Hazel, Gus and Isaac egg a house and Hazel says “Guys, I think we should wait until it’s dark.”  Gus reminds her that Isaac is blind and says “It’s all dark to Isaac.” 
• Hazel asks Isaac, who just broke up with his girlfriend, “Do you want to talk about it?”  His honest reply: “No, I just want to cry and play video games.”

Tips for parents:  Pre-marital sex, groping, 1 F-bomb and some other profanity.  The movie creates some good opportunities to talk to your children about:

• Disabilities
• Terminal illness & lung diseases
• Anne Frank
• Amsterdam
• Death
• The Trolley Problem

The rest of the story: This love story has a sad, but romantic real-life ending.  Katie Prager died 5 days after her husband died due to complications from cystic fibrosis and a lung transplant.  She was only 26 years old.  To learn more about the real couple in this movie, watch this video clip from CNN:  http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/peopleandplaces/fault-in-our-stars-wife-dies-5-days-after-husband/vi-BBwv9Nu?ocid=spartanntp 

     

Divergent movie review

Movie Title:   Divergent

Grade:   B

In a Nutshell:   

This planned trilogy is starting off with mixed reviews, despite its popular book by Veronica Roth.  The Hunger Games and Twilight fans will enjoy another heroine who can kick butt and fight the system while finding time for romance.  Shailene Woodley has been successful in supporting roles, but this is the first time her performance carries an entire film.

I think the ideas are interesting and Director Neil Burger creates a dystopian setting that has holes, yet is still intriguing.

Uplifting theme:   Tris declares “Don’t try to define me.”  The movie is about independent will and finding ourselves.  Jeanine Mathews (Kate Winslet) explains “The system removes the threat of anyone practicing their independent will.  Divergence threatens that system.  It won’t be safe until they’re removed.”  Teens often question where they belong, as if there is only one place that they have to find to be “home.”  This film takes a stab at showing we are multidimensional creatures that need to dance on many floors in order to find balance.

Things I liked:

• I’d love to play Capture the Flag with that glow-in-the-dark flag.  How about playing Paint Ball with those guns that shoot darts that make you feel like you’ve been really shot?
• This movie is full of dangerous stunts that make you want to stand in line to try.  For example, I love that gigantic zip-line that goes through the city.  Do you think Universal Studios will build one if this movie does well enough?  I won’t be jumping onto moving trains any time soon though.
• I thought it was interesting to watch the fears some of the characters had.  Four explains that most people have 10-15 really bad fears.  He has...four.  When Tris can’t run away and her feet move slowly in mud during her “fear evasion” sequence, it reminded me that I had that same recurring dream when I was a little girl.  It’s a terrible feeling to not be able to move forward, whether trying to escape danger or making progress on a goal.
• I thought it was an interesting concept that when people in the movie were injected with a certain serum that their thoughts could be controlled.  Isn’t that called alcohol? 
• I love Shailene’s thick, beautiful hair.
• Cool double infinity mirrors and other special effects.
• Who doesn’t love Ashey Judd?
• I’d like a blue jacket with the stylish neckline that Jeanine Mathews wears.

Things I didn’t like:

• The ending was disappointingly predictable, but I haven’t read the books, so I’m hoping there are more interesting things to come.
• Many of the characters were one-dimensional.
• Those in the Dauntless faction run during most of the movie, yet they’re never out of breath.
• Tris tells Four “I don’t want to go too fast.”  The very next thing you see is her in bed near him.  Huh?

Interesting lines:

• “My mother says there’s an art to losing yourself.” – Tris
• Tris sees the fear in Four’s eyes as they climb up and states “You’re afraid of heights.”  He reveals “Everyone is afraid of something.”
• “Are you even human?” – Four says to Tris as he watches her climb a tower with ease.
• “This isn’t real.”  What an empowering sentence you can say to yourself when you have fear.  Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do.  One of my favorite quotes by Franklin D. Roosevelt is “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” Later, Tris says “Don’t think.  Just jump.”  I’m wondering if we’ll see that tagline on basketball shoes soon?
• “I think human nature is the enemy.”  Jeanine Matthews   What a terrible thought.  Human nature is what makes us all fantastically flawed, interesting, and wonderful.
• “There is a certain beauty in the resistance, but it’s a beauty we can’t afford.” – Jeanine Matthews
• In Divergent , kids who leave the nest aren’t allowed to go back.  Thankfully, in our world they can.  In this troubled economy, we’re seeing an increase in “Boomerang Kids” as college graduates return home to save money while trying to pay back student loans.  How wonderful that families can pull together and embrace returning kids to get support.  On another level, it’s a great thing that we CAN reinvent ourselves and not be pigeon-holed into one thing in our lives.
• “We train soldiers, not rebels.” – Eric
• “Trust the test; it will tell you where you belong.” – Tori  

Tips for parents:  The language is clean, but there are a lot of dangerous stunts you may need to remind your kids NOT to try.  An interesting dinner conversation with your family might be to ask everyone which faction they would want to join if they had to choose.  Check out this fun Infogram MTV made and check out the Harry Potter comparisons.

In case you need to catch up on reading the series...