Divergent

Divergent came out on March 21st, and I saw it two days later. It was much better than I had expected. It had a very creative plot line and great characters!! I am giving this movie a rating of 1 out of 10 because there was nothing I didn't like.

I really enjoyed the plot line of the film; I thought it was extremely creative. The movie is about a futuristic society with 5 different "sections". These "sections" are basically jobs that people choose to do for the rest of their lives. Each person has to choose one of these to work and live in. A mandatory test tells you which "section" to choose. These tests keep order in society. The test is a liquid sot into your body that produces hallucinations. Almost everyone in the society can not tell that hallucinations are fake. There are certain people in the society called Divergents. These people can tell the hallucinations are fake, so it may be hard for them to choose a "section" in society. Divergents are killed because they affect the "order" in the society. The main character of the movie, Tris, is divergent. Throughout the movie she keeps this a secret and pretends she is not Divergent. This movie was very unpredictable and fascinating. My eyes were glued to the screen the whole way through.

The character development was another aspect of the movie that I enjoyed. Each character was relatable, in one way or another, and very unique. I enjoyed watching the struggles Tris had; it made her more realistic. Although she has a special ability, she still has troubles fitting in. Which is a quality that every person can relate to. Tris's male "friend", Four, is also a very relatable character because he has to run away from his past. This is also a quality that people can relate to.

 This movie was somewhat challenging to review because of all the different opinions so hopefully you still enjoyed it. I really enjoyed this movie, so I highly recommend that you watch it. Talk to you soon :)

Image courtesy of Forbes

The Book Thief

WARNING: This review reveals some of the book so read with caution!!

This week was the last week of my third grading period. After I finished a very challenging vocabulary test,  I decided to watch The Book Thief. This movie was much better than I expected. I heard from a few friends that this movie did not include parts in the book. The film left out certain elements of the book, but it was still a good movie.

I'm giving this movie a rating of 3 out of 10 because they left out important parts of the book. The first thing that wasn't in the film was the book that Max wrote Liesel. This was such an important part in the story because it helped bond the two characters. In the novel, The Book Thief, Max wrote Liesel a story over the pages of Mein Kampf. In the film Max did paint over the pages of Mein Kampf. But, there was never a story book shown in the movie. I disliked that Max's book wasn't in the movie because his book was one of my favorite parts. I loved this moment between the two characters. It was so sweet and showed that a young German girl and a Jewish man could become friends. The second thing that I didn't really like about the movie was the scene when Liesel finds her family dead. In the book she said heartfelt things to her father, mother, and good friend Rudy. In the film she went up to Rudy and asked him to wake up and kiss her. But, she expressed little emotion to her mother and father. It was a sweet moment, but I was hoping that Liesel would have had a stronger reaction to their death.

One thing I did really like about this movie was the scenery. The sets were beautifully designed. The sets also accurately resembled how the streets of Germany, during World War Two, would have looked. The movie wasn't just filmed on sets; it was actually filmed in Germany. I went to IMDb and saw that The Book Thief was filmed in multiple different places in Germany.

Image courtesy of IMP Awards

This movie captured most elements of the book very well. It was a great movie so I recommend that you watch the film! Talk to you guys next week. :)

White House Down

While my parents were away this week the people my sister and I stayed with chose the movie we watched. The movie we watched was White House Down. The film is about a man, John, who is trying to join the secret service. He is not accepted so he tries to leave the White House, but his daughter wants to take a tour. During the tour the white house is attacked by terrorists and John, alone, has to protect the President.

I enjoyed the character development in the movie. Each character was unique. One thing about the film that was different was how each character had a back story. Even the terrorists had interesting back stories. This had an odd effect on me, it made me feel like I knew each character. I know that sounds cheesy but that's how I felt. :)

This movie was very unpredictable, almost every event was unexpected, this made it much more enjoyable. Films that are predictable are boring to watch because you can tell what is going happen. But, if a movie is unpredictable then you want to sit through all of it. Since the movie started with a man trying to get into the secret service, I thought the film would be about his struggles while trying to get into the secret service. But, instead it was about a terrorist attack. With this plot line there was a lot of flexibility. The terrorists had the power to do almost anything when they were attacking.

Although some things that happened, in the movie, were not believable. The terrorists got into the security of the white house too easily. It probably would take a day or maybe two in real life. But, in the movie it only took about six or seven hours. I still really enjoyed the movie. So, I'm giving it a rating of 1.5 out of 10.

I hope you enjoyed this review. Leave a comment of any movies you would like me to do a review on. Talk to you next week! :)

Image courtesy of IMP Awards

The Avengers

After spending about three weeks watching all of the marvel superhero movies; I decided to watch The Avengers. I really enjoyed this movie. It was fascinating how all the characters came together in one movie.

My favorite part of the movie was how the characters interacted. All the characters had diverse personality's so they had trouble interacting well together. For the first half of the movie the characters simply argued back and forth. But, what they argued about was funny. There arguing brought humor to the movie. Although all they did was argue the first half of the movie; by the end they were working together to fight evil. When the characters interacted well it was much more enjoyable to watch. I preferred watching the characters work together because it showed their different strengths and abilities.

The plot line was very creative. It was interesting how Thor's brother, Loki, was the villain. In the movie before the Avengers Thor's father, Thor, and the audience thought Loki had died. So, it was a surprise to everyone when Loki appeared in the first scene of the Avengers.

I would have given this movie a rating of one out of ten but one thing about the movie was confusing. A few scenes before the end of the movie The Hulk could not control his powers and almost killed multiple people. This part did not confuse me because in The Incredible Hulk he can not control his powers. But, by the end of The Avengers the Hulk has complete control over his powers. This was confusing because they made such a big deal about how he couldn't control his powers. This was the only thing I did not like about the movie, so I am giving it a rating of two out of ten.

Image courtesy of Apple Trailers

I hope you enjoyed this movie review. Talk to you next week. :)

Frozen Gave Me Chills

Disney's new movie, Frozen, premiered on Thanksgiving day. I saw it a few days later. This movie absolutely blew me away. It was amazing. I am giving this film a rating of one out of ten (remember that is the best rating a movie can receive using my scale).  I love this movie.

Frozen takes us on an adventure with two princesses, Elsa and Anna. Elsa posesess magical ice powers, but it is difficult for her to control them. They become a problem for her even at a young age. Anna does not possess any special powers and she is ignored by Elsa almost her whole life because Elsa feels like Anna is in danger around her. Elsa looses control of her powers on her coronation day and leaves the city. Anna chases Elsa and tries to bring her back, but things do not go as planned.

I have never seen a Disney princess movie in the theaters because I was too young to have any interest in going. But, after seeing the movie, Tangled, at my house, I have always wanted to see a movie about a princess in a theater.

I will admit that at first I was not impressed by the movie's trailer. But, I remembered the trailer for Tangled was not that appealing either, and I thought Tangled was fantastic. So, I decided to watch Frozen in the theater the weekend it premiered.

My eyes were glued to the screen through the whole movie. There was not a dull moment. There was even a big twist ending. It was also interesting to have two princesses, instead of just one.

Character Development was great in this movie. Every character was different and very interesting. I am having difficulties choosing a favorite one because they were all great! Often in animated movies certain characters are unrealistic and boring.  When this happens, the movie becomes less interesting. Frozen had great characters which gave the movie a special touch.

I highly recommend you see Frozen. It was a great movie! This film appeals to all types of movie lovers. I promise you will be very entertained when you see this movie.

Image courtesy of Everything Disney Animation 

First Play and My Rating System

This weekend my dad and I watched 33 Variations. This play is about the 33 variations that Beethoven wrote on the famous waltz by Diabelli. The main character, Doctor Katherine Brandt, studies classical music and tries to uncover why Beethoven spent so much time during the end of his life on this waltz. She does not understand why he would waste his time on this waltz. Throughout the play both Beethoven and the Doctor become progressively ill. Beethoven starts to become deaf, which frustrates him and the people around him immensely. But, he still continues to write the variations. Doctor Katherine has ALS, and she becomes increasingly worse throughout the play. This also affects her and the people around her.

The play was absolutely amazing!! I loved it!!!

Before I give this play a rating, I would like to talk about my rating system. This rating system is not very original, but I feel it works well. A play, movie, or song will be rated on a one to ten system. One is the best, and ten is the worst. One meaning the piece of entertainment had a minimal amount of mistakes, and ten meaning the piece of entertainment had a very large amount of mistakes.

I am giving this play a one and a half out of ten. I loved this play, and I really did. But, there was one thing missing for me. In my opinion, I feel as though some parts of the play were too slow. Some scenes, when the main character Doctor Katherine was looking through Beethoven's journals, were rather slow. At first, these scenes were very interesting. But, after several similar scenes, I didn't want to watch them any more.

Other than those couple of slow scenes this play was fantastic, and I would absolutely watch the play again!!! One thing that I really enjoyed about this play was the character development. It had great characters that were very well developed, and I identified with the characters. This is a quality I feel every work of art should have. One of the reasons I watch plays and movies is to see a story. If I don't identify with the characters, I feel like the story was not told well enough.

One thing that was different about this play was that I knew the actress, who played the main character, personally. This was such a different experience than I have ever had. Knowing the main character helped me realize how different people are on stage from how they are in real life.

I recommend this play. As far as I know it is not currently on broadway. But, since I just saw it about a week ago, I am fairly certain it is still playing in numerous places around the U.S. If you would like to find out more information about this play you can visit the link above.

Image courtesy of silver summit theatre

Fantastic, Amazing, and "Epic"!

Since I was little, I have always been a fan of animated movies, and I still am today. I don't know what it is about these type of movies that I enjoy so much. It may be the innocence, or it may remind me of my childhood.

This past weekend I watched an animated movie called Epic. The title fits the movie because this movie was epic! My sister tried to convince me to watch this movie for about 4 months. Every time she has asked I have said no because of the trailer. The trailer does not do this movie justice. The trailer makes the movie seem like every other animated film, but this movie had a great plot, great characters, and a great ending. All the ingredients for an epic movie.

Let's start by talking about the plot of this movie. It was fantastic, awesome, and epic even though it was similar to the average cartoon movie. The beginning of the movie gave some clues about the main characters. The middle has more character development. But, the ending was different from the average cartoon movie. There was a boy and a girl in the movie and obviously they had feelings toward each other. But, they didn't end up together. I personally enjoyed this part of the movie. It made the film more realistic.

The one thing missing from the movie was one character's development. Most of the movies I review seem to be missing at least one character's development. The main characters were very well developed, but the movie did not show enough of the villain. With most animated movies they spend more time developing the villain. By the time you finish watching an animated movie the villain should be cemented into your brain. How about Tangled for example? When I had finished watching Tangled I could not forget the name of the villain, Mother Gothel.  Epic did not have this affect on me; sadly, I have already forgotten the name of the villain. So, the one thing that could have been improved is the character development of the villain. Other than that, the movie had great character development.

Even though the movie was missing this one element, I still recommend you see this movie, especially if you are a fan of animated movies that are different. Go watch it soon and I assure you will have an epic time!

Image courtesy of imp awards

What's the magic word?

Do you believe in magic? This week I watched Now You See Me. This movie surprised me. I really liked the movie even though it was completely different from I what I thought it would be. One thing I enjoyed was the plot. The plot had a solid introduction, middle, and conclusion.

The introduction was probably one of my favorite parts of the entire movie. It began with a quote that made me think (I love quotes like that). "The more you look, the less you see. The closer you think you are, the less you'll actually see."  The tone of the movie was set. It implied to me that these magicians are going to be extremely tricky.

The middle of the movie was very interesting.  It was entertaining to watch the incompetent law enforcement officials. Wow, I guess they could have used the help of the N.S.A. The law officials made the mistake once of thinking that they were ahead of the magicians. However, the magicians were one step ahead of the law officials. This made the movie very humorous and interesting.

The movie begins through the eyes of an anonymous person.  This individual observes the magicians as they perform various acts.  One assumes that this person is responsible for bringing the  magicians together. When it was revealed at the end, it was not at all who I had thought it was going to be. I should have listened to the quote at the beginning of the movie because I was sure I knew who this person was, but it turns out I was completely wrong.

Character Development in this movie was very interesting. I'm not sure if I liked or didn't like it. At the start of the movie the characters magic skills were introduced, but their personalities were not developed. I was disapointed. I would have liked to have seen more background on the characters and more dialogue between the characters. There was some character development based on the characters' acts, but it was not enough for me. Someone, who I was talking to about the movie, made a valid point about the characters. Her point was that the writer may not have developed personalities because the movie is about magic. So, maybe the writer was trying to keep the characters mysterious. I do agree with this, but there still could have been a bit more personality in the characters. In conclusion, I think the characters are interesting and make the movie more mysterious. But, I would have enjoyed more character development.

 This movie deserves a 4.5 rating because everything was spot on except for the characters. I recommend this movie if you love to think and if you love big surprise endings!

Image courtesy of Collider