The Divergent Series---- Divergent to Insurgent

   

The Divergent Series was written by Veronica Roth.

DIVERGENT is a thrilling action-adventure film set in a world where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues.

The society that Beatrice "Tris" lives in is divided into five fractions.

These are: Abnegation, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity, and Candor.

Divergent was directed by Niel Burger and produced by Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Pouya Shabazian. 
 This coming March 20, 2015 the second movie of the Divergent Series --- Insurgent will be released.

Insurgent is said to be filled with even more action than the last however, there has bee some rumors that the book ending could be altered to please fans. As opposed to leaving the fans such as myself with a said ending of a lot of the main characters dead, producers are searching for a more "happy-ending" causing an array of feels amongst fans. There is much that is expected of this movie by many fans such as myself.

I personally feel that the books are more intriguing then the movie maybe because I know certain things are going to happen..

Twilight Series
Hunger Games Series
The Maze Runner
The Divergent Series

Have all disappointed me in at least one way or another ... but have occasionally made up for it who knows .. We'll see. Until next time!

Happy Spring Break.

White Bird in a Blizzard

Today, October 24th, 2014, White Bird in a Blizzard premieres in theaters everywhere. The new film directed and adapted by Greg Araki, takes place in 1988, focusing on a 17 year old girl whose life turns upside down within one day. The film stars Shailene Woodley playing Kat Connor, the main character. 

I first saw this advertised this summer after following a Shailene Woodley blog. The new starlet has been in multiple blockbusters within the last year. One movie that has brought her a lot of attention was Divergent. And shortly after this The Fault in Our Stars, which audiences fell in love with and the performance of her character, Hazel Grace. Shailene being one of my favorite new Hollywood actresses has really come a long way since the days of The Secret Life of an American Teenager. And after seeing the trailer for this new film she is starring in, I see a different person completely.  

 In White Bird in a Blizzard there are some risky scenes that Shailene stars in. The movie seems to open up with Kat and her first big relationship. She's exploring love for the first time and all the fun that comes with it. However after her mother disappears, and a series of many events unfold, Kat is seen with a much older man in the trailer. Another man that she is trying to somewhat be sexually involved in. There are also scenes where Shailene is completely topless in front of the camera. This is something that I would have never expected Shailene to play. The character is much more exposed than previous characters that she has played. However I think this film, although it has not been promoted nearly as much as The Fault in Our Stars, or Divergent, it will help build her career in a great way.

Although I have not seen it yet, I definitely plan to, I was curious what critics have rated it as. IMDB gave it a rating of a 6.6/10. Not nearly amazing, but not completely horrible. Rotten Tomatoes did give it a 57%. After seeing that rating, I am starting to question what about this movie could have gone wrong. Seeing the trailer I was immediately intrigued. It starts off with a teen finding love for the first time, however her world is turned into completely disaster once her already weird mother disappears. It goes from a romance to a suspenseful film almost immediatly.  And the story was adapted from the novel by Laura Kasischke, which scored a 3.6/5 from googlereads, which again isn't completely horrible. I'm wondering if maybe they did not structure the narrative as well as they could. Did they not have a great setup that followed into a convincing catalyst? Were there not enough obstacles that Kat had to face in order to find her mother? And also, how close was the screenplay to the novel?

All of these questions I'm dying to find out. When I saw the trailer, I expected a great movie, and I still do. Hopefully the critics are wrong and it is a great movie.

If you have not watched the trailer yet, I suggest you do.

We Can Relate

           If there was one movie I spent my whole summer re-watching and picking apart, it would definitely have to be Divergent. The movie is originally based upon the trilogy series, by Veronica Roth. When I first heard about this movie I thought, great, another Hunger Games movie. And although I like action movies, how could Divergent be so different from The Hunger Games? They both had the same main plot: A world in the future ran by a new government system. This government system dividing their people into different sections. Of course I read the books first, but I wanted to see how the film portrayed the book and if the writers would stay true to the original book and its theme or if it would be made into something that was basically a replica of The Hunger Games.

When I finally watched the movie, I thought it was very good. It was almost, if anything identical to the book, which I was very pleased with. The movie focuses on Beatrice Prior. It immediately starts with her and what role she plays in society. In her world there are five factions that rule. Each of these  factions focuses on a certain quality in personality. The Abnegation are selfless, the Candor are honest, the Amity are peaceful, the Erudite are knowledgable, and the Dauntless are brave. Beatrice was born in abnegation and feels as if she is too selfish for the Abnegation. When she finally takes her test to figure out what faction she belongs in, she finds out she is Divergent, which means she does not fit into any one category. However, being Divergent is very dangerous and she is told to tell no one. Because of this and how she feels out of place in Abnegation, she finally chooses Dauntless. As the movie goes on the audience is able to watch her develop into someone new, strong, and brave. However along the way she finds out how dangerous being divergent is. But once she finds out what the Erudite are up to, she decides that being Divergent was never her weakness, but instead her strength. By discovering this, Beatrice, or now known as Tris, is able to fight back against Erudite from killing innocents, as well as Divergents. 

While this film is able to draw in the audience by the interesting ideas of factions, as well as the action packed scenes, it is the character of Beatrice (Tris) that really resonates with the audience. Beatrice admits to being selfish, however it is how she recognizes this that she is able to conquer it. And by embracing being Divergent, she is able to help save thousands. Her character is very relatable and it is not a predictable character that you see in many action packed films, such as The Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games, Katniss is made out to be more shy and hates being the center of attention. Nor does she, eventually, want to lead a rebellion. She hates everything that has happened to her world, however she does not want to be the person to lead the change or fix it. Now in Divergent, Tris is more outspoken, does not care if people see her or not. And although she hates everything that has happened to her world, she is ready to fight and is ready to be the person to lead. And the fact that Beatrice does not initially fit in with her world only makes her more determined to figure out who she is. Her character helps teach people everywhere that even if you don't fit in, you shouldn't conform to the norms. She teaches us to be who we are, even if we are hated for it. And that is someone we can and want to relate to.

Shailene Woodley: Rising Star

Shailene Woodley. You may not recognize the name, but you definitely know her face. I first knew her

Shailene Woodley

as the annoying pregnant teenager from "The Secret Life of the American Teenager", an ABC Family show that went on too long and ruined Molly Ringwald for me forever. At first the show was a guilty pleasure of mine, until I came to actually dislike it, mainly because of the character Shailene Woodley portrayed. Then, "The Descendants" came out. I almost didn't watch it, but when I heard it had George Clooney in Hawaii, I had to put aside my prejudice. 

I loved the film, and surprisingly one of my favorite parts was Shailene's performance as Alexandra. Woodley played the exact opposite of her "Secret Life" character, instead showing us her more rebellious and brash side, while still evoking emotions and connecting with the audience. I was impressed, especially as she was thrown side by side with one of the most iconic actors of our time. After "The Descendants" I was hooked, and couldn't wait to see what she would do next.

What I love about Shailene Woodley is her flexibility. She can bounce from a TV show, to an indie movie, to a blockbuster, one right after another, and fit in with almost any style. My favorites are her indie films. I was blown away by "The Spectacular Now", a film about two seniors in high school who fall in love and force each other to explore the people they've become. I'm a huge fan of Miles 

Teller and Woodley from "The Spectacular Now"

Teller already, so I was shamelessly biased to see this movie. I was enthralled by the rawness of the actors' performances and the strange chemistry that somehow worked for the film. This was no typical high school romance story, and Woodley and Teller really sold it. 

After seeing "The Spectacular Now", I found out Woodley was starring in the new movie "Divergent". It peaked my interest, but I was mostly just happy to see her in another big film. I haven't gotten around to seeing it yet, but from the what I've heard, I predict Woodley's future will only increase steadily in success. And recently I discovered that she is starring in Josh Boone's new film, "The Fault in Our Stars", an adaptation of John Greene's famous novel. I'm extremely excited to see it, as I believe Woodley's talent has only grown, and we'll see another side of the actress we've never seen before. 

The film will be released this upcoming summer. I'm excited to see what moves this promising actress decides to make next.