Insurgent (4/10): Bigger and louder sequel, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's better.

“You are living proof that the divergent problem has grown beyond all control.”

Director Robert Schwentke (RED, RIPD) replaced Neil Burger for the Divergent sequel which is much bigger, louder, and action packed. I actually ended up mildly recommending the first film which I found engaging enough thanks to Shailene Woodley’s lead performance. Unfortunately, Insurgent is a step down for the franchise because bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. The action scenes look great and the film is very pretty to look at, but the main issue I have here is with the story which I felt was so convoluted that I wasn’t able to engage with any of the characters. I honestly couldn’t remember much of what had happened in Divergent (which means it didn’t really make an impact on me the first time around), but we get enough flashbacks and exposition here to recall some of the important events. We are also introduced to the two other factions that the first one left out (amity and candid) so we get new characters that mostly appear on screen for a couple of minutes. Octavia Spencer is the leader of amity and Daniel Dae Kim of candid. Insurgent also introduces us to the factualness who are led by Naomi Watt’s Evelyn. So Insurgent basically ha the same flaws most sequels do, which is try to make everything bigger and it ends up crowding the screenplay and leaving little room for character development. Sure, some of the action scenes are great (mostly the first couple of scenes) but I simply lost interest in the story and found it incredibly tedious and boring. By the end I didn’t really care what could happen to any of the characters. I haven’t had much luck with Schwentke’s films recently and would’ve preferred Burger continued directing the franchise instead. If you are a fan of Veronica Roth’s YA novels you probably will enjoy this, but I’m not familiar with her work and didn’t enjoy this film at all.   

Insurgent takes place right after the events of Divergent so if you haven’t watched the first film you might feel lost. Basically, the story is set in a dystopian future where society is divided into five factions based on people’s virtues. Jeanine (Kate Winslet) is the head of the erudite (the intelligent faction) who basically has control over this wrecked city surrounded by giant walls which separate them from the vast outdoor wasteland. The heroine of the franchise is Tris (Shailene Woodley) who discovers she’s divergent because she doesn’t fit into one faction, but decides however she wants to be Dauntless (the more adventurous and fearless members of society who become the protectors of the city). Here she falls in love with Four (Theo James), befriends Christina (Zoe Kravitz), and is bullied by Peter (Miles Teller) and Eric (Jai Courtney) who are all returning characters in the sequel. In Divergent, Tris discovers that her kind isn’t accepted in society believing they are a threat for not fitting in. She also discovers that Jeanine is planning on taking over the rest of the factions beginning with Abnegation which is where her parents (Tony Goldwyn and Ashley Judd) reside. Her parents are killed in the attack but she eventually stops Jeanine’s plan. Insurgent picks up right after the attack as we follow the surviving fugitives hiding out with the Amity faction. Tris’s brother, Caleb (Ansel Elgort) is also with them. Jeanine will stop at nothing to capture Tris discovering she’s a valuable asset. 

The plot in insurgent felt much weaker and the film focuses mainly on the action sequences. There are way too many characters introduced, which is a shame because it diverts the attention at times from the main ones. Shailene Woodley gives a solid performance but she didn’t carry the film this time around. I found her character a bit less charismatic since she spends most of the film feeling guilty and unable to forgive herself for the loss of her parents and friends. Theo James isn’t any better either and the romantic chemistry that existed in the first film grows weak this time around. Ansel Elgort is devoid of all the charm he brought to the table in The Fault of Our Stars (it is weird seeing him play Woodley’s sister in this film after being her love interest). My favorite performance in this sequel surprisingly came from Miles Teller who doesn’t get much screen time but shines in the few scenes he’s in. The villains aren’t actually very menacing and everything about this sequel felt more boring and tedious to me. Even the simulation and dream sequences are a bit of a letdown and took me away from the film completely.    

White Bird in a Blizzard (5/10): An uneven film that unsuccessfully mixes genres.

“And just like that, my virginity disappeared. Just like my mother.”

I did not make that quote up; Shailene Woodley’s character (Kat Connors) actually says this while she narrates her life to a psychologist played by Angela Bassett. I wasn’t familiar with director Gregg Araki’s previous work, but I found this mysterious thriller problematic and at odds with itself. On the one hand it focuses on Kat’s sexual awakening, but on the other we are introduced with some cartoonish characters like Eva Green’s Eve Connors who seems to be playing a similar role as she did in 300 and Sin City. She gives a very campy performance, while Woodley is playing an authentic character. I just found the tone of the film very strange and didn’t buy into the mix of styles. Araki is playing with genre conventions here mixing the coming of age tale with other familiar thrillers, but it didn’t work for me because the dialogue at times is unbelievable and Araki seems to be leaving us false hints of what actually happened only to pull the rug under us with a twist at the end of the film. White Bird in a Blizzard is based on Laura Kasischke’s novel of the same name and was adapted by Araki himself. I’ve never read the novel so I don’t know if it has a similar tone, but the film felt surreal at times. There are some great looking scenes during Kat’s dream sequences, but there isn’t much more going on story wise. The narration is awful and it also brings down the film. 

It’s funny because the plot of this film is what I thought The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby would be like. A woman goes missing and the film would revolve around the mystery behind her disappearance. Kat (Shailene Woodley) narrates the events of her mother’s disappearance (Eva Green) claiming she had never been in love with her father, Brock (Christopher Meloni). Kat believes she simply got fed up with Brock and walked out on him. Her relationship with her mother hasn’t been great either so she doesn’t seem to mind her absence. She is comfortable with her current situation and doesn’t think she even needs to talk to a psychologist about it. When she was young her mother treated her like a pet, but once she got older she began to resent her for her youth and beauty. Kat meanwhile is in a relationship with her next door neighbor, Phil (Shiloh Fernandez), who is her first love. Lately he hasn’t seemed too interested in spending time with her, and when her mother goes missing, she and her father file a report with Detective Scieziesciez (Thomas Jane) who she finds attractive despite the age difference. Kat is very open with her two best friends, Beth (Gabourey Sidibe) and  Mickey (Mark Indelicate) about her sexual life. There isn’t very much going on with the plot since Kat doesn’t think much about her mother’s mysterious disappearance and we know how she feels because she is narrating the story to her psychiatrist. Things change when a few years pass and Kat returns home from college. She discovers that her mother’s disappearance has affected her more than she realized and we begin to discover new elements about the mystery. This final act of the film plays out more as a traditional mystery movie and I was actually surprised with the final reveal. It is a shift of tone from what we had seen during the first half of the movie which played out as a coming of age sexual awakening tale. I can’t recommend White Bird in a Blizzard, but it does have its moments. Shailene Woodley delivers a very strong performance (but I still think she was better in The Descendants and The Spectacular Now) and she is a talented young actress. I wasn’t a fan of Eva Green’s campy performance, but I have read some praise. Other than Woodley’s performance I don’t think there is much more worth recommending here.

My Review: The Fault in Our Stars (8/10)

"You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful."

The Fault in Our Stars is one of those rare romantic melodramas that succeeds thanks to its talented cast and its believable script. Considering how easy it could've been to emotionally manipulate and exploit the audience with the material, director Josh Boone did an excellent job of recreating a tender love story while avoiding cliches and one dimensional characters. I was unfamiliar with John Green's bestselling novel which this film was based on, but I had high expectations for this film considering the script was adapted by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber whose work in 500 Days of Summer and The Spectacular Now I highly admired. The Fault in Our Stars didn't disappoint thanks to yet another powerful performance from Shailene Woodley (in my opinion her best work), who played her character in such a natural way that she made the story feel believable. Considering the subject matter this film could've been over manipulative, but it never feels this way thanks to a smart and intelligent script and some strong performances. The film balances these dramatic moments with grace and there were also some very funny moments that helped lighten the mood when things got grim. This isn't like other cancer dramas (I'm mostly thinking of My Sisters Keeper here) which have mostly failed by being too exploitive, because this film handles the material with grace. It's still a heartbreaking film, but it is much more natural in the way it approaches the material. This is one of those rare chick flicks that guys will actually enjoy as well.

This love story is narrated by Hazel Grace (Shailene Woodley), a teenager who has been diagnosed with stage 4 thyroid cancer and has to carry an oxygen tank with her at all times in order to breathe. In an effort to get her out of the house, her parents, Frannie (Laura Dern) and Michael (Sam Trammell), convince her to join a cancer support group. Despite thinking it's a waste of time, something good comes out of it when she meets Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort). He happens to be there supporting his friend, Isaac (Nat Wolff), who has a tumor in his eye and is about to lose his sight. Augustus himself is a former cancer survivor who lost his leg and is now wearing a prosthetic one. From the moment they bumped into each other at the support group, he just can't take his eyes off her and easily wins Hazel over with his charm and wit. The two become good friends although their relationship seems to be a bit more limited by time than most other couples.

In order for a film like this to work it is important that the two main characters share a strong and believable chemistry together. The Fault in Our Stars makes the most out of this thanks to strong and natural performances from both Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. The chemistry between the two is amazing allowing the relationship to feel authentic and captivating at the same time. We've all seen what Woodley can do, and she has been amazing in every film she's been in, but this is, in my opinion her best performance to date. Ansel Elgort on the other hand completely took me by surprise as I wasn't too impressed with his work in Divergent, but here he is incredibly charming. Nat Wolff, who was one of the main characters in Josh Boone's previous film (Stuck in Love), has an important supporting role here considering his character helps break some of the dramatic tension with several laugh out loud moments. Those scenes really helped lighten up the mood and made this a much funnier film than what I was expecting. Laura Dern and Sam Trammell are also convincing as the parents who are dealing with their daughter's condition. The scenes that really didn't work for me however, were the ones involving Willem Defoe as the author of Hazel's favorite novel. Those scenes were just too weird and took me out of the story, but it's my only complaint for an otherwise incredibly captivating and tear inducing romantic drama.

My Review: Divergent (6/10)

"I don't want to be just one thing. I can't be. I want to be brave, and I want to be selfless, intelligent, and honest and kind. Well, I'm still working on kind."

Let me start off by saying that I had no prior knowledge of Veronica Roth's novel which this film is based on so I can't make any claims on how faithful the adaptation is. Although I will say that 5 minutes into the film I kind of got a feeling that this futuristic dystopian story had some similarities to The Hunger Games which made me wonder if Divergent was not yet another one of Suzanne Collins' novel adaptations. The main reasons why this film was among my most anticipated films for 2014 were director Neil Burger, for his unique work in Limitless and The Illusionist, and Shailene Woodley who has been terrific in just about every film I've seen her in. So I was greatly disappointed when I discovered that Divergent, which had a heavy message aimed towards young adolescents about not being labelled or categorized and discovering who you really were by following your own path in life, was being a bit hypocritical in its approach considering it can easily be categorized as yet another generic and formulaic teen romantic adventure film full of cliches. This was far from Burger's previous films which I found unique, perhaps due to their indie approach. However having said all this, I still found Divergent entertaining enough to mildly recommend it thanks in most part to the Shailene Woodley's lead performance. I'm not Divergent's target audience, but I think adolescents and young teenagers will love this film and their expectation will be fulfilled. They are the only reason why  the planned sequels will get to be made, but the truth of the matter is that this is a much lesser film than The Hunger Games and will easily be forgotten in time.

Vanessa Taylor and Evan Daugherty adapted the screenplay from Roth's novel setting the story in a futuristic dystopian Chicago where people live confined inside wired walls. They are also divided into five factions based on their virtues. Their is Abnegation who represent the selfless, Dauntless the brave, Erudite the intelligent, Candor the honest, and Amity the peaceful. The Abnegation faction are the ones in charge of governing the city considering they are selfless and always put others first. They are merciful people. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) and her brother, Caleb (Ansel Elgort) have been raised by their parents, Andrew (Tony Goldwyn) and Natalie (Ashely Judd), in this faction, but when they turn 16 they are free to choose the faction they feel they belong with. Before they decide they must take a test which basically tells them what faction they really belong to, but they are free to decide on their own. Everyone always fits into one faction, but if you make a wrong choice you could end up factionless (homeless). When Tris takes the test she discovers she's one of the few people who is divergent (meaning she has basically all the virtues from every faction), but she must keep it to herself because these people don't fit in to this dystopian society where being different is viewed as something dangerous. When the day comes for Tris and Caleb to make their decision she ends up choosing Dauntless, who are basically in charge of the security and enforcing order in the city. Knowing that faction comes before family she must bid them farewell, and her training with Dauntless begins. At first she doesn't fit in due to the extreme physical and intense psychological tests that their instructors, Four (Theo James) and Eric (Jai Courtney), make them go through. If she doesn't pass the initiation program she will be sent with the factionless, but at the same time if they discover she is divergent, she could be killed so the adventure begins (and of course the romance as well).

I enjoyed the performance from the young actors in this film and I think Woodley had great chemistry with James. A lot of people had issues with his performance, but I thought he was very believable and pulled it off well. The cast elevate this film and make the film's extended running time worth the while. There are some beautiful scenes that work really well in Divergent, I loved the cinematography and the dream sequences were probably the highlight of the film. There was also a scene where Tris went down a canopy line through the destroyed buildings that looked pretty cool. The story is formulaic and has its flaws. It felt melodramatic towards the end and tries too hard to leave audiences hooked for the sequel. The first part of the film suffers for taking to long to set things up and introducing each character, but once we are with Tris in Dauntless as she goes through the initiation process the film picks up. The film also fails to engage the audience as to why the divergent are so dangerous to their society, but it all seems to rely on the message the film is trying to give to young teenagers. It is a metaphor playing on the fear of adolescents of finding their place in society and discovering who they really are. It wasn't the film I was hoping for, but I am feeling merciful today so I will give it a passing grade.

My Review: The Spectacular Now (8/10)

"You'll always be my favorite ex-boyfriend."

Director James Ponsoldt (Smashed) really set the bar high for this film giving it such a pretentious title, but in all honesty the movie accomplishes exactly that: It is spectacular. This has been a great year for coming of age movies and it is easily becoming one of my favorite genres. I thought I had had enough with MUD, The Way Way Back, and Kings of Summer, but The Spectacular Now managed to bring something new and unique to the equation. This is one of those High School films that feels authentic with three dimensional characters and a solid screenplay. The writers for 500 Days of Summer (another film I enjoyed), Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, did an incredible job adapting Tim Tharp's novel and their screenplay benefits from great performances from Woodley and Teller. Actually the entire cast is impressive in this film and it is really hard to think of another Hollywood film that has created such natural and authentic High School characters. At first glance you might think this is just another cliched romantic teen comedy where the popular kid from school falls for the nerdy and sweet girl, but this film does it in such a unique and mature way that it only uses this known premise to explore other important themes. The Spectacular Now is a balanced film that blends romantic and comic touches with some serious and dramatic moments. It reminds us all that it was not always easy to be a teen considering how specific moments touched and shaped us during our transition to adulthood.

Sutter (Miles Teller) is a charming and popular High School senior who everyone seems to like. There is no party if he isn't around. He is happy with his life and embraces the now. When his girlfriend, Cassidy (Brie Larson), dumps him he decides to do what he does best which is to party. The next morning Aimee (Shailene Woodley) finds hims passed out in her lawn and wakes him. Of course she recognizes him from school and introduces herself. She is nothing like him, she is sweet and shy, and has never had a boyfriend. Sutter has no idea where he has parked his car so he asks Aimee if he can ride with her while she does her mother's paper route. Despite their differences the two connect and begin to bond. Sutter is still very much in love with Cassidy, but at the same time he believes he can help Aimee become more confident. He may be a popular kid, but he realizes that he isn't going anywhere with his life and that is the main reason why Cassidy dumped him. Aimee on the other hand is either blinded by her love for him or actually does see some good in him. They're both at a turning point in their lives and despite their differences both of them think they can have a positive effect on the other.

Despite the familiar premise this film has a lot of depth and goes places others in the same genre never do. It also does it in such a way that it never feels heavy handed or manipulative. Yes there may be some rushed moments, but the story is so well crafted that it has an authentic and raw vibe to it. Woodley and Teller are so natural that you forget they are acting. The film just strikes all the right notes making it impossible to be emotionally detached to it. You really care for these characters and fear they will hurt one another. It is just such an honest depiction of teenage life where not only friends influence their lives, but the entire surroundings (parents, teachers, employers) shape them. The center of the film really is Sutter as his world (the spectacular now) begins to shake and alcohol doesn't seem like the easiest way out anymore. It may not be until halfway through the film that you realize that the main theme isn't the relationship between him and Aimee, but the way they each have to deal with the transitions and changes in their lives. Two scenes stood out for me, the first being Sutter's encounter with his father and the second near the end where he embraces his mother. The supporting performances in this film were also very rich. Kudos to Brie Larsen, Kyle Chandler (Sutter's father), and Jennifer Jason Leigh (his mother). They were all simply spectacular. This is a film that stays with you because it never feels false and remains fresh. 

My Review: The Descendants (7/10)

¨Goodbye, Elizabeth. Goodbye, my love, my friend, my pain, my joy. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.¨

The Descendants is a good film, but I was expecting much more from this dramedy written and directed by Alexander Payne, the man who brought us About Schmidt and Sideways. I was a huge fan of Sideways, and it had been over seven years since Payne directed another movie so I was highly anticipating this one staring George Clooney. Clooney is a great actor and this role seemed perfect for him. After hearing so much buzz from critics and the Academy about this picture, director, and performance from Clooney, my expectations grew even higher. Perhaps it was this overhype that left me a sensation of incompleteness after finishing watching The Descendants. The story was funny, but the characters weren’t as interesting as most of Payne`s characters were in other movies, and Clooney was great in the lead role, but far from being Oscar worthy in my opinion since I`ve seen far more better performances from other actors this year. Clooney is a natural and he made his performance actually seem real natural, but I thought relatively unknown Shailene Woodley stole several scenes from him. It`s hard not to like someone like Clooney with his charm and charisma, but I don’t think that`s enough to honor him with another Oscar. He did have one strong scene when he was giving his final farewell speech to his dying wife so don’t get me wrong, I did like his performance, I just expected so much more and perhaps those expectations affected my overall perception of the movie. I guess The Descendants actually had me at Payne, Clooney, and Hawaii. It was not as good as I expected, but it was still a lot of fun.

George Clooney plays a wealthy land owner from Hawaii named Matt King. His descendants used to be sort of rulers of a big island in Hawaii and therefore he and his family owned most of the land. They are receiving millionairy offers from several businessmen who want to buy the land and build beautiful resorts or shopping malls. Matt however has decided to make a living as a lawyer and spends most of his time in his office. Clooney tells us all this in voice over as he narrates how his wife had a boating accident and has been lying in a coma for the past three weeks. Meanwhile, he has no idea how to raise his nine year old daughter, Scottie (Amara Miller), who has been causing all sorts of trouble in school and at home. Matt decides it`s time to go bring his seventeen year old daughter, Alexandra (Shailene Woodley), back from boarding school to help him out with Scottie. Alexandra had a big fight with her mother before the boating accident and is kind of in a rebellious stage, but decides to help out her father after realizing that her mom is not going to get better. Alexandra reveals to Matt that the reason she was fighting with her mom was because she was having an affair with another man, who they later find out to be a real estate businessman named Brian (Matthew Lillard). Alexandra and Matt decide they should find a way to confront him and so they travel to another Hawaiian island where Brian is located. Alexandra brings along one of her friends named Sid (Nick Krause) who practically follows them around everywhere not helping out much, although Matt does seek for their advice most of the time.

Payne`s film does work solidly as a decent drama with sufficient comedy to lighten up the dark subject matter of the movie. The characters are interesting, although some of the secondary characters are pretty much one dimensional. It`s still interesting to see how Clooney`s character really doesn’t know what he`s doing most of the time. He is lost, and looks for his daughter`s advice quite often. Most of the comedy comes from Payne`s script which is funny as usual, although the cast also help out a lot. I guess since I`m from South America I`m used to seeing a lot of films dealing with society and family dramas since pretty much every Latin film deals with these subject matters, so it wasn’t something new for me. Hollywood on the other hand isn’t really known for creating these quality dramas so I can see how some of the critics were blown away by this film. But if you consider other foreign films, like this year`s Iranian drama A Separation, then you will notice the difference. What Payne does best however is add some comedy into the mix and it always works well for him, although this time I thought it wasn’t up to par with his previous film Sideways. The Descendants is a good movie, with some strong performances, but I`d rather watch his previous films before watching this again. The one good thing going for this movie is the beautiful scenery set in Hawaii. I recommend this film, but just don’t go into it as hyped as I was because you could be disappointed.

 

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