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

Insurgent Movie Review

So as yall are aware of Leah and I have been waiting forever to see this moving... Oh how we have longed to see it... We have been patience, we have stayed clear of spoilers, we have been freaking counting down the days!... All for this moment... AND OH HOW BITTER SWEET IT WAS.

I will of course be doing a run down of the whole movie. I wont be giving out any real spoilers, but I wont be holding back either. There are a handful of things that I did like about this movie, but there are A LOT of things I hated. I use the word hate heavily might I add. That being said here we go my review of Insurgent the movie VERY loosely based of the best selling novel Insurgent book by Veronica Roth.

"I know this doesn't make any sense,''  says Tris

You're right about that Hazel Grace. That sentence basically sums up Insurgent. First before I say anything I think that Tris should quit her Dauntless day job and take up cosmetology. This is where I think her true talent lies, but maybe that's just me.... Anyways the movie starts off right away with action packed-ness. Tris and her band of miscreants are still on the run from Rose Winslet the evil leader of Erudite. Rose Jeanine has her hands on the mysterious box that can only be opened up by a divergent. This is where the problems began for me... Yes, within the first few minutes. If you haven't read the book then you don't know that the box wasn't in it. If you have read the book then you know what was going to be hiding in it... At least you think you do. HOW ROSE DAWSON KNOWS THAT SOME SPECIAL SNOW-FLAKE DIVERGENT IS NEEDED TO OPEN SAID BOX, THAT THE BOX WAS FOUND BURIED IN THE PRIOR HOUSE, AND THAT SHE YET WASN'T ABLE CONNECT THE DOTS TO FIGURE OUT THAT TRIS, WHO SHE KNOWS TO BE DIVERGENT WOULD PROBABLY BE THE ONE SHE WOULD NEED TO OPEN THE BOX IS BEYOND ME!!!! The freaking leader of the faction that is all about being brainiacs couldn't figure out that she needed Tris shows why they were so easy to overthrow.

Everything from how they arrived at the Amity compound seeking safety, to how they leave Amity is changed. Basically they took two hundred pages and crammed it all into the first 30 minutes of the movie. This leaving the audience with the start of their confusion. As seen in the trailer they are running away from the soldiers/dauntless traitors now working for Jeanine when they see a train they can use for escaping....This part had me LOLing. THERE IS NO FREAKING WAY THEY COULD HAVE POSSIBLY OUT RAN KAT VON D AND HER FOREHEAD DERMALS!!! THAT DUDE WAS RUNNING LIKE THE FLIPPING TERMINATOR!!!! Also I don't know how at least 50+ trained dauntless soldiers couldn't have shot at least Caleb. Clearly Four's classroom training skills are lacking. Anyways, at this point you might be thinking what I was thinking... YAY they're about to start getting really into the book now, God I can't wait to see what Edward looks like. Well sorry to bust your bubble so early on, but this doesn't happen. Instead of bringing back good ole pirate patch having Edward we get introduced to the first of many pointless characters. This all happens while a random, again not in the book, fight scene happens. This all leading them to the Factionless. Yes it does jump around that quickly. SIDE-NOTE: I JUST DIDN'T GET WHY THEY DIDN'T MAKE SEMI MOHAWK DUDE EDWARD?!?!?! IT WOULD HAVE MADE JUST AS LITTLE SENSE AS THAT GUY!!?? I can't possible be the only one to think of this?!?!

Once we get to the Factionless we are introduced to Theo's mother. The leader of the homeless. This starts off a list of problems all in itself. Instead of having the factionless scattered through out locations they have them all living in the market place from The Hunger Games. This however, was a plus to the story. Tobias then introduces Tris to his mother, Evelyn. Who explains that she left Abnegation to flee her husband who was an abusive drunk and that the reason she didn't bring her son was because she was so young... Seriously, Theo James and her look the same age.... So you gave birth at like what seven?!? Yeah, you're right you were way too young to be raising a kids, becoming hobo is SUCH a better idea. Yes, to some this might sound minor but it still bothered me. This section also had some big changes: the kids jumping off the roof scene, Marcus not being present, Caleb's exit, the fact that the homeless own makeup, and the play out of alliances were all altered. Leading to more confusion for non-readers.

Then again the movie jumps to them going to a new location. This time in Candor were more of the book is altered. Tris and Four still undergo the truth serum in a really cool room with the guy from Lost, this scene, though important in the book, movie wise just opens up a whole new can of worm questions... And Tris' acting is hard to watch during this scene... IT'S BAD!!!! She keeps doing both that squeaky hamster sound she's constantly making and ugly crying all over the place. While at Erudite we do get introduced to some of the big players from the book, but sadly they served no purpose in the movie. Marlene, Susan Black, Uriah, his brother, Lynn, and Hector were all either not present or pointless. Now that I think about it, most of the factionless, and their presents is pointless! Combined all of them spent maybe 15 minutes on screen. While people had such boners for these characters also is beyond me. Of course before exiting Candor the writers thought they hadn't changed enough and decided to add in a whole new section complete with a face scanner, and a new way for Eric to make his exit. Jumping yet again the couple is back with the homeless, but not for long. Tris decides to Dine-and-Dash on the man candy that is Theo James before heading off too turn herself in too Jeanine. WE DON'T EVEN GET A FOUR AB SHOT!!!! The change in the way Tris and Four's relationship was done so much better. In the book I couldn't stand them being together. They were beyond annoying spending over 300 pages arguing. In the movie their relationship is sweet, caring, and not full of lies.

AWWWW and the scenery changes again! Starting to get whiplash!

While being held in the Erudite compound things actually start picking up and getting good... Why is that? Two reasons The Inception like simulations and Peter (Miles Teller). And I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I'm going to anyways, I CALLED IT!!! I freaking called it. I said that I had a feeling Miles Teller would be the star on-top of the Christmas Tree of this movie and I was right. In Divergent I didn't see him as Peter, in Insurgent I got why they cast him. He gave me all the things I wanted from book Peter and didn't get. Teller did what he is known for and brought the comic relief. Thank the Lords above because this movie needed it. (Honorable mention to Ansel Elgort because he also nailed it) The sims were like I was saying, also nice. The effects were great. I actually liked that they took a large drawn out section of the book and shoved it into her having to do 5 sims to open the box. I even liked the simulation that came straight out of the movie Up. This was what I was thinking I was going to hate in this movie. Turned out I liked it. Thought after the whole truth serum situation that Tris wouldn't be able to pull of the deep and action packed section this put in front of her. She nailed it though. I liked almost everything about them being in the Erudite compound. I thought it was a little bit silly that Tris and Four refused to use guns during their escape (even though we all know Theo James already carries two lethal weapon aka his left and right arms, HEY OOOOOO). But wait, don't get too excited now, this also brings me to my biggest issue with this movie.  THE ENTIRE ENDING!!! THE WHOLE FREAKING ENDING PISSED ME OFF BEYOND BELIEF. When reading the book the reason I loved it so much was for those last few pages when we get slapped with an ending we didn't see coming. IT'S THE WHOLE REASON I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THIS MOVIE! When the movie starts winding down I was waiting on pins and needles for this moment... AND THEY CHANGED IT!!! AND IT SUCKS SO MUCH DICK!!!!! THE BEST PART OF THE BOOK AND YOU CHANGE IT!!! I can get over the plot holes, I can get over the jumpy story line, I can even get over the left out characters, but I CAN NOT get over the change of this ending! I HAVE NO CLUE what they plan on doing with the next movie. Pissed doesn't even begin to state my reaction.

I truly think that when it comes to page to premieres that the critics reviews are nice to see, but the only opinion that matters to me is those of the readers. The ones who have read the books and now are seeing the movie. And if I completely separate the book and the movie, than yes the movie is entertaining and overall alright... But as a reader I wasn't happy. The things like the box and the simulations were such an added bonus of a surprise. These were all things I thought would have me hating the movie and I loved that my mind was changed on those. The changes in somethings were needed. But the extent to how it was changed.... was just too much. The elimination of most the characters, the rush of timeline, and the alternate ending had me sighing.

Lucky for me I have a double date to see it again tonight. Lets just say that my face the whole time I'll be watching this the second time around will be resting bitch. I keep hoping that I'll wake up from a simulation and that the ending will be different. But I warn yall now, if they change the ending to Allegiant then Charleston better look out because I will punch a whole through this town!

6/10 Please never make fun of The Mortal Instruments again Stars 
-Angela 

YALLFest Day 2!!!

Yesterday was the second day of Yallfest, and IT WAS AMAZING!!! I (Angela) was off work so Leah, Richard (Leah's husband) and I were all able to go out there together and see everyone!

For those of you that follow us and are from Charleston, out of state, or out of town just to catch you up, YALLFest is a once a year two day YA book festival. It's located in Leah and I's home town of Charleston, SC. It's actually the largest YA book festival in the country. It's hosted by the cutest little local book shop called Blue Bike Books that is located in downtown Charleston. It's spread out over several streets with multiple hours of signings. Along with the signings there are Keynote speakers, a YA smackdown, and several panels you can attend. You can also purchase books, shirts, and get lots of free goodies.

The weather outside is flawless this time of year so it made getting up at 5:30 in the morning so worth it. And that's how we started our early and by rushing around to make sure we got there early. We knew that James Dashner and Veronica Roth were both only seeing select number of fans so we knew we had to plan perfect and....

I'm pretty sure we did the impossible because we were able to see both Veronica Roth and James Dashner! They were both only seeing the first 200 people and we somehow managed to get wristbands and see both of them in like less than two hours!

James Dashner was who we choose to see as our keynote speaker and we're so glad we did! He was super funny, charming, and probably one of the nicest authors we met. His panel was all about how he became and author, what his writing process is, and how he's handling everything now that the movie is out. Being able to get a wristband and meet him was amazing. He took the time to not rush his signings and talked to every single person on a personal level. He also didn't have a one book limit and was willing to take photos with everyone.

 

That was the only downside of seeing Veronica Roth. She was only allowing one book to be signed and no pictures to be taken with her, I mean we get it she's freaking VRoth and people would probably want to take a million pictures, but it was still a little bit of a bummer about the one book thing. The positive side about her "strict" signing was that it went super smooth and we were able to see her, talk for a few moments, and then go to our next signing with no wait time. Just being able to meet both of them was such a pleasure.

The other authors we saw were Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer L. Armentrout.The line for Sarah J. Maas was insane (theres a video on our insta)! Once again we lucked out and got there super early. We were in the first 15 to go in. She was so sweet and also allowed any amount of books to get signed and personalized.

 

  

I will say seeing Jennifer L. Armentrout was the biggest highlight for both of us. She was so funny and sweet. She is our my favorite author and was our #1 must see. I really think she took book signing to a whole new level! She had no limit on how many books you could get signed and she actually asked to take pictures with us. Plus she personalized every book we brought in. I know it might be a little hard to see in pictures but my book seriously says "#TeamRoth cant even stand it :)".

 

Like it's been a full day and I'm still coming down from my fangirl high from seeing her. The fact that she had no limits on books, wanted to take pictures, and did it all with such positive energy just shows why she is the best! She was also signing in a train museum which really made it interesting. We sadly didn't make it out to Marie Lu's line since it was crazy insane and was at the same time as JLA's.

As far as Swag Bags went Leah and I made out with posters, buttons, shirts, bookmarks, and a ton of book samples. The girls from EpicReads were out there hooking people up with posters and totes. Also the folks from TheNovl where hooking everyone waiting in line to see James Dashner with hot coffee and water bottles!

 

Overall our experience at Yallfest was amazing. Everyone, even the people visiting from out of town were so polite, and caring. It was not only amazing seeing the authors, it was amazing talking and meeting new people. We are so excited to go again in 2015! All that being said we will definitely be bringing rolly-bags instead of totes next year, gonna be feelin the book burn for the next few days!

I've posted some pictures here but to see more go to the contact section of our blog and check out our instagrams!I'm also going to put a list below of who all we saw over the two days. If you'd like to read their reviews they'll be located in the A-Z section of our blog.

Day 1:
Kiera Cass: The Selection Series 
Michelle Hodkins: The Mara Dyer Trilogy

Day 2: 
Jennifer L. Armentrout: The Lux Series, The Covenant Series, The Dark Elements Series, etc.
James Dashner: The Maze Runner Trilogy, The Eye of Minds
Veronica Roth: The Divergent Trilogy, Four
Sarah J. Maas: The Throne of Glass Series


I also had a super awkward and hilarious run in with Gayle Forman while we were down there too.

Let us know if you went, who you saw, and what you love! Sorry if we didn't get to meet you there but hopefully we'll meet more followers in the near future!

<3
A&L