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.

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.