Allegiant Movie Review

Allegiant the third film in the Divergent Movie Series follows Tris and Four as they decide what to do now that the fraction system they were raised with has been dismantled. With the fractionless taking over Chicago and rebel groups forming, the two decide they need to go beyond the walls to find the help they think their crumbling city needs. So umm... We just saw Allegiant, and we have no idea what we just watched. Allegiant is loosely based on the book. Talking the first 300 ish pages are the first 30 minutes of this movie. Yeah you heard that right. The rest of it, well, your best guess is as good as ours.Allegiant starts off with the wall being blocked by orders from Four's sister, I mean mom, Evelyn. Tris and Four (mainly Tris) decides that they need to know what it beyond the wall if anything. Of course Tris can't leave her conniving brother so Four comes up with a non legit way of breaking him out (can we all just take a moment to say sucks to suck Tris HOPE YOUR DECISION WORKS OUT FOR YOU). After that happens the three start to leave the city... Of course they end up picking up Peter, Tori, and Christina also under unrealistic events, on the way out. At this point we'll be real, the movies not going bad, but then comes the scale the wall to escape the city scene... And good god is it cheesy.

If them scaling the wall in a bizarre manner wasn't enough the director decided what the movie NEEDED was a slow mo explosion scene. Yeah, it's bad y'all. So over the top dramatic. It was like something out of an 80s action movie.. However they manage to get out. Once out they enter the Scorch Trails... Oops we mean the Fringe. A dry waste land where they still somehow manage to know what direction to head. At one point Caleb looks thoughtfully at a puddle and says "This was radioactive sometime in the last 200 years." COOL BRO THANKS FOR THE INFO. While running and trying to find outside survivors, Johnny Weston (we don't know what his name in the movie is) is determined to find them and stop them... This is where the director said we need more slow mo!!! AND PUT IN AN EVEN WORSE CAR JUMPING OVER GAP SLOW MOTION SEGMENT! This had us rolling! Before things can get even slower the outsiders show up conveniently through a force field (Katniss didn't even have to shoot her arrow in... Oh wait...), throw everyone into these weird gummy bear bubbles, and float them back to their headquarters.

Which happens to look like JarJar Bink's under water house but is actually O'Hare airport. Unlike the book it's very fancy and there are a ton of people living there which really weirded because in the book its' a janky place. Once they have arrived they have to take these intense baths where they are covered in orange jello and then receive new tattoos.

Tris gets a legit job with the director David because she is the only true pure. Four does security and search and rescue and Peter and Caleb are stuck doing surveillance on Chicago. This is where cool new weapons come into play. We get introduced to some neat serums, cool laser tag style guns, and Four learns how to fly rumba vacuum cleaners. They all spend some time there before Four starts thinking things aren't what they seem after he goes on a super sketch mission. He finds out they are kidnapping children from their crank parents in the scorch, clearing their memories, and are not out to save them. Four tries to get Tris to leave with him but of course she doesn't. Four is told he can still leave and they will take him back to Chicago. He decides  this is the best plan of action and gets on a plane to leave. Mathew a new character who is introduced (he so ugly hot like Steve Buscemi but younger and hotter and slightly less creepy)  tells him that he needs his help. Four crashes the plane in an awesomely awesome fight scene killing almost everyone on board including all 45 pilots and starts walking home (ultimately ends up captured).

Once Tris is back she knows David has been lying and that Four is gone she decides it is now  time for, her brother, and Christina to leave. Somehow Tris know how to fly one of these future planes... We get she saw how autopilot worked ONCE but she know how to entirely fly the plane. She also figures out how to make the plane invisible. Once back in Chicago the three of them have to figure out how to stop the memory perfume from being spread throughout the city... But first they must break out Four... Insert cool guns, more gummy floating things, and another BA fight scene.  Things go down, shenanigans happen, rumbas are used, and ultimately of course the city is saved by the teenage gang. 

There were some highs in this movie:
There was a lot more Four than was expected. The angst-sty romance between Four and Tris isn't annoying like in the book. Caleb and Tris relationship is better. Weapons were cooler. The story line flowed better. Peter (Miles Teller) continued to be a joy to watch. Fight scenes were bitchin. Four has a steamy shower scene (that alone is worth the pricey movie ticket purchase). It was a lot more action packed than the book. And it was a lot easier to follow than the book (sometimes) was.

But there were some lows:

You could clearly tell when it was shot in front of a green screen (aka the entire movie). Camera was at times very shaky. The digital block things were odd and felt like when you try to watch 3D without the glasses. Tris knowing how to do any and everything was confusing.  The floating gummy things were dumb. The fact that when people where captured they would cover their heads with bags- example: Peter was captured and taken to Erudite headquarters with a bag over his head. Ya boy lived in erudite headquarters with Jeanie it's not like he doesn't know where he is. And the movie felt long. At one point we checked the time and it had only been an hour and felt more like three.

So all in all we understand why the movie is just called Allegiant and the next will be called Ascendant. Allegiant the book is around 530 pages and almost all of it is in this movie. So it's safe to say Ascendant will be its own thing. That being said we are very confused as to what that thing will be. The biggest question of all still remains... How will it end??? Will it go back to the book-the road less traveled or go down a road we already know. Our bet is sadly after seeing this that they are going to change this ending (which we will be devastated about... because lets be real its what makes the book so amazing and bold). We are more excited now than we were before to see the final film.

Four Factor- 10/10
Movie rating- 4/10 maybe 5 stars

-A&L

Perfectly Casted Characters Pt1

We've said it a million times, we love when books become movies. We also go gaga over when a casting director nails their choices. It's not just about finding someone who just happens to look like the character... because lets face it sometimes they end up not looking anything like them. It's about having the right attitude, about being able to capture the emotions we felt towards the book, and about having a certain presence that will capture our hearts. Here are our choices for actors we thought nailed or will nail their page to premiere roles.

Shall we start with the most obvious one??? The entire cast of The Harry Potter Series... DUH Right!? But of course the even more obvious ones are Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. We don't think the movie franchise would have been nearly as successful with anyone else playing Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The added bonus was for us getting to see them grow not only in age but in their acting. I think we can all agree that The Harry Potter Series is the most successful and well done book to screen.

Our next pick is Ansel Elgort as Augustus Waters in The Fault in our Stars. Wow, just wow. I think we really got everything we wanted when they cast him to play the tear jerking Augustus. His boyish charm, sweet persona, and down to earth attitude pulled from his real life ways made him the perfect match. Ansel has such a way about him and we think this was the perfect movie character for him to play. Being no stranger too the Ya book to film world we've also been able to see him play Caleb Prior in the Divergent Trilogy. As much as we love him in that role we just can't get enough of him in TFIOS. This gripping and emotional role might have been hard for most to reach, but dang it if he didn't make us feel all the feels that the book left us with. Well done movie world! Well done!

Next up we have a newbie to the book to film thing, and that is Mae Whitman in The Duff. We loved her version of Bianca. So comical and confident. Bianca's no care attitude was nailed by Mae. Bianca in the book might not have been our favorite, but movie Bianca was someone we loved. I mean when she wears that outfit made up of crocs and pajama pants I about died! She really brought all the sarcastic mojo needed to nail this roll. Everyone's calling this the new version of Mean Girls, and I think they would definitely fall into the same genre.

Don't have too ask me twice

Theo James as Four in Divergent! What? You've never heard of him? Ha, yeah we were just kidding... We know you have. Theo is an amazing example of when not just the actors attitude fits the person but so does their looks. Besides the eyes Four sounds like he was written based off of Theo James himself. "Spare upper lip, full lower lip, deep-set dark blue eyes (so dark they are almost black) long lashes, deep voice, more than six feet tall, muscular, ears that stick out, short hair, and large nose"... So mmm yeah pretty sure that sums up both Four and Theo description well. Theo did an amazing job portraying the tough as nails Four as well. We loved that Theo makes us feel like were still reading the book while we're watching the movie. Think we can all agree this casting director deserves a raise! Thank you!

On to the next one... Robert Sheehan as Simon in The Mortal Instruments City of Bones. We know a lot of people don't think Lily Collins was the perfect Clary, or that Sexy Campbell Bower was the best pick for Jace, but we think we can all agree that Robert Sheehan is an amazing choice for Simon. He has the I've been friend zoned so many times- best friends forever- I'm the one you should be introducing to your mother because hey I'm not your brother thing down. We love seeing Robert do interviews, his overall attitude both on and off the screen are so captivating. He brought all the heart eye for Clary and nerdy friend charm we were hoping to get.

There are a few people we would like to "Pre-mention"... We say it like that because they haven't actually starred in the film yet. BUT, we still think that they are going to portray their soon to be Page to Premieres perfectly.

Thomas Mann as Greg Gaines and RJ Cyler as Earl in the film version of Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl. Even though psychically both Thomas and RJ don't fit the part, the scenes we have already seen lead us to think that maybe changing their appearance up a bit was a good idea. RJ seems to have the sarcastic and surprisingly good friend attitude down and Thomas seems to have the I'm to awkward for this world idea nailed. We are both so excited to see this movie hit theaters.

Chloe Grace Moretz as Cassie Sullivan in The 5th Wave. This is the movie I (Angela) am most looking forward to seeing in 2016. I remember reading the book even before the movie was opted and thinking how amazing she would be as Cassie. Just seeing her in KickAss 1&2 sealed that deal for me. She's sassy, strong willed, and always says what shes thinking both on and off scree. She's also no stranger to P2P, staring in both Carrie and If I Stay. We know that she can do emotional while still giving us all the "Cassie is a complete bad ass" feels we need. It doesn't hurt that she is so close in age and physical appearance. The main reason we think she's going to nail this?.. Is because the book is all about the unbreakable bonds of family, and we all know Chloe and her family are tighter than glue in real life. January 2016 can't come soon enough!

And to wrap this all up we leave you with this.... The steamy fine and the man designed to blow girls minds... Nick Bateman as Miles Archer in Ugly Love. This film might actually defy science and get us pregnant. But why do we really think that he will crush this role with high standards? That's easy to answer, because the fans chose him. We as readers asked for him to play Miles Archer. And having an author and film makers listen makes all us coho fans very happy campers! We haven't gotten to witness a lot of his acting skills (only seen him in Hobo with a Shotgun) but I'll be honest... this film could just be him standing drinking a Capri sun for two hours and I wouldn't complain. He has the look and were hoping he has the attitude to to knock this role out the park. Seriously, why is 2016 so far away???

Unbroken Movie Review

As y'all might know, occasionally Leah and I will go outside the Ya/Na world and read a fiction. memoir, poetry, contemporary, and so on. I recently read  Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. When I decided to read it it was because I saw it was becoming a movie. I had no idea how moving this story was going to be.


I did a short review on the book after finishing it, which I'm posting below.

    "I managed to squeeze this book in between several others I'm reading and I wont lie I saw the movie trailer and knew that I had to read it. This book is BEAUTIFUL, sad, and made me cry. It's a heart breaking and moving story that everyone should pick up. How one man could go through so much and not be broken by it is what will bring you to tears.

I hope too one day find the same courage and strength that Louis Zamperini had. And that when the catalyst of my life happens that I will come out stronger and wiser because of it. This book will give you hope. I absolutely can't wait to see this play out on the big screen. I'll be there Christmas Day tissues in hand."

I unfortunately didn't get to go on Christmas day because of family scheduling BUT I just left the theater about a hour ago from seeing it and figured I'd do a review while it was still fresh.

I have never before left a theater after seeing a page to film and had nothing at all the say negative about it. You know how it is... You leave and right away you and your friend start listing off and comparing between the two. I have no negative feedback to give. This movie was breathtaking and left me speechless.  

Everything from the scene set up to casting in my opinion were flawless. Seeing such well known authors in a new setting was amazing. You might not even have known there were such big names in this movie (that is unless you're like me and love books to film). Jolie cast Domhnall Gleeson who you would know as Bill Weasley from Harry Potter Series, About Time, and the upcoming Star Wars film. Another actor you might have heard of was Jai Courtney. He is mostly known for playing Eric in The Divergent movies, but is also set to be in the the new Terminator film coming out next year. Even with those names present there is no doubt who stole the show... Jack O'Connell. He is who plays Louis Zamperini in this film. I have only ever seen him in one other film and that was 300. With that being said he will be an actor I will keep an eye on in the future.

Unbroken shows the life of Louis Zamperini, who was a an Olympic athlete who joined the armed forces
during the second world war. Only to be captured by the Japanese navy after a plane crash in the Pacific. After surviving at sea for over a month in a raft he was then captured by the Japanese only to be thrown into several POW camps. The flow from one scene to the next, the depiction of how a person can be so torn apart, to the dramatic conclusion has me struggling to even write a review for this movie. It was just simple a film that I feel everyone needs to go see.

How someone can go through what he went through and come out of it as well as he did is something in itself. There is no way I could have gone through or done the thing he did to survive. This was a film I was so glad I got to see before the year ended. I know people keep saying that Angelina Jolie is still such a mystery when it comes to directing but if this is what we have to look forward too in the future from her, then I am on pins and needles until the next film she releases. A strong book and an equally strong movie.

“A lifetime of glory is worth a moment of pain. Louie thought: Let go.”

 10/10 Stars
-Angela