At The Movies: Divergent

Movie: Divergent

Stars: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Zoe Kravits, Ansel Elgort, Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd

My Rating: 5/5

I am giving the movie a full 5 even when some things irked me, because overall I think it was an amazing adaptation of the book and the cast really made the story come alive. This one I'm definitely buying on BluRay!

What I liked~

Veronica Roth’s cameo in the canopy scene! Now how fucking awesome is that? It makes me immensely happy when movie people consult the authors and let them into the process, but giving the author a tiny part is beyond the call of duty and should be praised. Gives me hope for whenever a novel of mine gets to the big screen or even the tv screen as a series LOL

The connection between Tris and Four wasn’t like the one in the book, and I both liked and disliked that aspect. In the book, I could see why the two ended up together because there was that slow simmering attractions and a set of encounters that led to it. In the movie, of course, you don't have the luxury of a slow pacing and so their attraction felt a bit rushed? Either way, I still enjoyed the sexy times!

And the sexy times with tattoos!

The world building was pretty amazing. The devastated Chicago landscapes looked epic and the canopy scene, though obviously CGI, still gave me and my friends a thrill.

The fear landscapes were another thing that I was excited to see how they handled, and I have to say they did a great job. They looked both real and surreal, which was the point of them.

Her training. OW! I'm conscious it's a movie and that fights are staged, but damn those fights sequences had me cringing with each blow. I really liked that we got to see Tris's transformation from the point where she knows nothing, to the point where she can handle herself in a fight against anyone.

Friendships. Another point I was hoping they nailed and they did. Tris's friendships play a big part in the books, and they highlighted them enough in the movie to show that.

What I didn’t like~

Except for a couple of scenes, Tris remained monosyllabic for the first part of the movie. Her favorite words were Yeah, Ok, and I'm pretty sure there was a third one, but I can't remember it. I was pretty distracted by what was happening on screen--it is an exciting movie, after all--but even so, I noticed her lack of longer dialogue responses compared to other characters. It was very disconcerting since she is the heroine of the story.

This is more of an issue with how they shot the movie and not with the story itself, but the in-your-face close-up shots got boring pretty fast. Like, hello, let me see their clothes and the room/space around them!

The last shot of the movie was beautiful, but what the hell happened to Four’s lines? I WAS WAITING FOR THEM! I kept mouthing the words, reciting his lines, but he never says them! Here's the quote from the book...

"I have something to tell you," he says.

I run my fingers along the tendons in his hand and look back at him.

"I might be in love with you." He smiles a little. "I'm waiting until I'm sure to tell you, though."

So cheesy! So cute!

What made my fangirl heart explode~

The ‘wake up Four’ scene. Holy shit. That's all I can say.

At the Movies: Vampire Academy

Movie: Vampire Academy

Stars: Zoey Deutch, Lucy Fry, Danila Kozlovsky, Dominic Sherwood, Gabriel Byrne

My Rating: 5/5

This series is one of my favorites and after reading a lot of mixed reviews—from OMG LOVE IT to OMG HATE IT—I was really concerned when I went to watch it at the theater. I went with two of my best friends who had never read the books and as soon as we stepped out of the theater they both asked me about the books and how soon could they borrow them.

We. Loved. It.

What I loved~

Main actors selection. Zoey Deutch is totally Rose. There’s no doubt about it. Lucy Fry nailed Lissa Dragomir. Dominic Sherwood captured the true personality of Christian Ozera. And Danila Kozlovsky convinced me as Dimitri Belikov, even though I still think he's too old.

Rose and Dimitri. Can you see the chemistry?

What I liked~

Suporting actors selection. Cameron Monaghan was freaking adorable as Mason. Knowing what happens to him later makes it worse. Sarah Hyland as Natalie was the right dosage of nerdy and dorky, and the final transformation was pretty awesome.

Friendships. I really loved how they highlighted the dynamic between Rose and Lisa.

The minimum angst. Though it’s clear Rose is disappointed at Dimitri’s refusal to initiate anything between them, I was SO glad when she turned everything around and flipped him.

The humor. I only laughed out loud a couple of times from really good jokes, while the rest were just like haha. But that still didn't change the fact that I had a huge smile on my face every time Rose was speaking.

What I didn’t like~

Headmistress Kurova. My reaction to her character in the movie was basically ‘What. The. Hell.’ Like, why did they make her into an airhead, mean girl, childish woman? I do not remember her like that at all. Yeah, she was always against Rose, but she was never petty about it. In the movie, she is mean on purpose, just out of spite. It was ridiculous. And my critique is to the character, not to the actress because I know Olga Kurylenko is phenomenal. But they took what I remembered to be a pretty serious character and turned her into a silly joke.

Shut up. There’s a moment in one of the final scenes where Lissa basically tells Queen Tatiana to shut it, and it was so out of character both for Lissa to do it—because I don't remember her ever challenging authority like that—and for the queen to simply follow along.

Overall, I think the movie captured the essence of Vampire Academy. I won't be able to tell you how closely it follows the book because I read the series a couple of years ago and my mind is fuzzy on specifics. But it was funny, entertaining, and so much better than anything I expected! Now, can we please get Frostbite? I need me some Adrian Ivashkov on the big screen.

At The Movies (Home Edition): The Hunger Games - Catching Fire

Movie: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks 
My rating: 4/5

What I loved~
Peeta. The storyline of this movie certainly highlights Peeta's character, how sweet and caring he is, yet also not afraid to stand courageous. He's still the poor love sick puppy following after Katniss, but at least now he defends himself.

Katniss. I'm not a fan of her at all--books or movie--but I really liked the emotion Lawrence puts into her. When she was begging Haymitch to make sure to save Peeta foremost, I totally believed it. I could feel her panic. However, not all the emotions were believable (see What I didn't like~)

Effie. She is as fabulous as ever. Banks certainly owns the role. Two of my favorite lines from this movie were when she says to Peeta "A T T I T U D E" and then inside the presidential house, she comments "And the library, all mahogany" and smiles. I just burst out laughing because they carried on with the joke. Maybe in the third movie she can club someone with a mahogany chair leg or something. Anyways, Effie is plenty of fun, but then she almost made me cry when she was giving the tokens to her team.

The allies: Let me start with my favorites, Finnick and Mags. Fin was as sassy or sassier than the books and I completely loved him for it. Mags was just a darling, and I can't believe she actually hanged on to Finnick for some of the scenes (I mean the actual actress who plays Mags, not the girl double). Finnick screaming for Mags in the fog cracked my heart clean in two </3 My second favorite was Johanna. The girl is fierce, and she has no fucks to give to anyone at any time.

What I liked~
The Capitol people:  I like that they took the time to include Flavius and Octavia. They certainly play a bigger role in the books, and I had missed them during the first movie. Also, Caesar and his laugh. HA HA HA  

Gale scenes. Whoever decided weave in those Gale scenes in between the tour is a genius. It's not part of the books at all, but it works perfect as character development for him since he plays a bigger role in the last book/movie.

The Arena. The lightning, the fog, the jabberjays, the tidal wave, the spinning clock, and breaking the shield. Amazing.

The ending. I do not remember the exact book ending but god damn was that a good plot twist or what.

What I didn't like~
The marriage and fake pregnancy subplot threw me off because I didn't remember it from the books, but I guess it added to the tension and the drama.

Katniss and Finnick. They made it seem as if they knew each other from before, so that first meeting felt really awkward in the dialogue with them throwing barbs at each other as if they had a previous rivalry.

This scene...
Peeta: Nodoby needs me.
Katniss: I do. I need you.
Me: With that enthusiasm I'd say you're a LIAR!

Also~

At the Movies: The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones

Movie: The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones
Stars: Jamie Campbell Bower, Lily Collins, Kevin Zegers, Jemima West, Robert Sheehan, Godfrey Gao
My Rating: 5/5

I read the books way back during my second or third year of college, so by now most of the things of the story have faded away into vague memories [not because the story is forgettable, but because I read SO MUCH it's hard to keep track of stories]. At first, I wanted to re-read the book before going to watch the movie, but I decided against it. I wanted to take in the movie without any expectations at all. What I found out was that not only was the movie super enjoyable, but it brought back all those awesome book memories I had locked somewhere deep inside my mind.

What I Loved~
All the actors. They all did an outstanding job of portraying the characters. Lily found a perfect balance between vulnerable and strong that just worked really well with playing Clary. Jamie is Jace, there’s no question about it. I didn’t oppose his casting, but I still wasn’t sure about him being good for the role. And I was so, so wrong. Kevin as Alec did a good job with all the jealousy issues, and OMG his surprised face when Magnus calls him sexy...

Godfrey was flawless as Magnus. Jemima played Isabelle exactly as she's suposed to be, sexy but a hell of a lot dangerous with that whip. Holy shadowhunters everywhere did this girl whip some ass with it! Robert as Simon took me by surprise, not only was he funny but he almost made me cry during confession time. The secondary actors also did an excellent job with Clary's Mom, Luke, Valentine, Hodge, etc.

Flawless Magnus is flawless…with or without pants.

What I liked~
All the settings. From Clary's house, to the Institute, to the City of Bones, Madame Dorothea's home, Hotel Dumort, Luke's shop, etc. They paid attention to every single detail and everything took me back down memory lane, especially the Institute. All I can say is that Disney better get working on building a second castle and making the church turned shadowhunter lair part of their attractions ASAP.

The portal. I was really confused by this when it appeared on screen, because I didn’t even remember a portal being in the books. But then I remembered there is one at Madame Dorothea’s. For the sake of the movie though, it totally made sense to move that feature to the Institute. Plus, Jace messing around with the portal water LOL

A sort of role reversal. We’re all used to the girl throwing a tantrum, or to seeing a scantily clad heroine or villainess, but Mortal Instruments twists this in a really awesome way. It is Jace who throws the tantrum because he thinks Clary doesn’t love him, and then we have Valentine prancing around with a leather jacket and no shirt.

Crunchy punches. I mean literally a crunchy sound with every punch and hit. It had me wincing and making painful faces at the screen during every fight, but boy were those fights awesome. I wanted to get up, jump inside the screen, and join the fight. Oh, and remember girls, frying pans and silver platters are acceptable weapons in any fight.

The Ships were sailing...or beginning to sail. Jace and Clary, check. Alec and Magnus, look at the gif above. Izzy and Simon. Huzzah! I did so not expect this on movie one, so thank you movie-making people for giving us this. There was even some Luke and Jocelyn o___o

Wish they’d done~
Parabatai. There was a severe lack of bromance in this movie and it just made me want to cry or stand up and curse at the screen. What happened to all the wonderful Jace/Alec interactions?! Other than showing a very jealous Alec and a very oblivious Jace, we don’t get any of the precious parabatai dynamic these two have. Heck, they don’t even mention the word parabatai at all. And I wanted that. I felt its absence like a big black home in my fangirl heart. I think they could've done so much more with it, especially during the fight scenes.

Magnus’s party. How dare Pandemonium’s party be louder and livelier than Magnus Bane’s party!? That is inconceivable! I was hoping for this big, awesome party full of different and noticeable downworlders everywhere...but Bane's party was pretty tame. *sniff*

Magnus’s voice. When he first came out and started talking I frowned, because there was something weird going on that I couldn’t pin point. I later realized that Godfrey Gao’s accent was missing. Magnus was speaking flawless English and It. Bothered. Me. Did they fix his voice with a computer (if so I do not like) or is that really Godfrey speaking?

No Church the cat. I know, I know. They announced this from the beginning, but I’d somehow erased the fact from my mind.

What I didn’t like~
Werewolves... in a school bus. It's not that I didn't like it, but it was a big WTF moment.

The City of Bones. Why oh why didn't they show this awesome place? WHAE!? It's like Welcome to the City of Bones, we shall show you only one tiny room and that's it.

Valentine’s hair. From the second he appeared on screen I just wanted to jump on his back like a rabid koala, take a knife, and saw through those horrible fake braids. HORRIBLE. FAKE. BRAIDS.

Jokes. Some of the jokes fell flat for me because they sounded forced. The jokes that I remember from the book were awesome, but the others not so much.

PS: I didn't mention the Greenhouse scene because we already know that's the best scene ever, second only to the Magnus/Alec first meet.

At the Movies: Now You See Me

Movie: Now You See Me
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo
My Rating: 4/5

What I loved~
The tricks! When the first, lets say, 20 minutes of the movie had passed I was kind of worried. All the footage I'd seen in trailers and special scenes released pass during that time. And now the chase began, so I though...that's it? No more tricks? Because you know they'll be running and hiding. WRONG. That was just the tip of the iceberg. What comes next was as or even more impressive and visually satisfying than those previews.

The Four Horsemen: Daniel Atlas, Merrit, Henley and Jack. These guys couldn't be more different from each other if they tried, yet they are brought together and the result is an amazing team.

I do think they could've expanded more into each character's lives. The only one we get to know really about is Merrit and only because the detective reads his file. We know Daniel and Henley had a past together. But nothing is said about Jack, that I remember.

The ending...I admit to having my mouth full open for the entire time it was going on. The people in the theather were all like.. "Naaaah." "Nooo" "OMG" Then it became really funny when I heard the whispered, "It cant be" and then, "Is this for real?"

What I liked~
The main actors. As with the characters, this was an unlikely cast to be brought together yet they worked so well. Oh and Mark Ruffalo in all his scruffy, ruggedy, but not hulky goodness was a treat to watch.

Morgan Freeman...because he seems to be in every freaking movie I've watched this year. Having him explain the tricks was very cool.

What I didn't like~
As a proclaimed romanceaholic, I was surprised to find myself wanting to skip or fast forward the sexy tension scenes between the detective and the interpol agent. The scenes just dragged a bit and I only wanted to get to the next trick :)

At the Movies: Fast & Furious 6

Movie: Fast & Furious 6
Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Ludacris, Luke Evans
My Rating: 5/5

What I loved~
The flirtatiousness of Dom and Letty getting to know each other for the first time...again. It was an unexpected romantic element to a franchise that its known for action, action and more action. But these two finding each other again amid gun fights, races, and a whole lot of crazy was just perfect.

The setting! From the Canary Islands to London to Spain. It's not about getting the shots and action sequences right. It's also about having the perfect backdrop to enhance those things. A fast race is dangerous. A fast race with multiple cars through the tight streets of London is DANGEROUS. See the difference?

Flying shit everywhere. I mean planes, cars, tanks, people...

And Roman isn't the only one to fly either. It was a bunch of ridiculousness that I couldn't help but love. This is why I go watch these movies: to see the impossible and laugh.

What I liked~
We've seen this crew battle through a lot and the camaraderie is evident here as they embark on yet another mission. Roman Pierce had the funniest most annoying comments and moments ever (yes, that is a good thing.) and Tej was right there being sarcastic and poking at him. Han had the sweetest moments with Gisele (this girl is like totally badass! Dare I say, much more so than Letty). And dammit, I knew he was dead, but seeing it again </3

What I felt missing~
Sexy cars...Okay, so they're not exactly missing. They're freaking everywhere, but none of them stayed in my mind like say Dom's Charger in the first movie or Han's orange Mazda in Tokyo. The only one that I really appreciated was the red Dodge Daytona, which is of course Dom's.

What!?~
Fast & Furious 7 preview. Dear god, it's...It's Statham!

At the Movies: Star Trek Into Darkness

Movie: Star Trek: Into Darkness
Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch
My Rating: 10/5 

I'm a new Trekkie, meaning my love for this is only from the Star Trek 2009 and this movie. Therefore I did not have any expectations of this Khan character or what his role was 'supposed' to be. All I knew is that Cumberbatch would be playing it and he'd be awesome. And he was.

Fun Fact: As a newbie Whovian I was proud of myself on recognizing Mickey...

What I loved~
The cripsness of the movie. Those first scenes in the twisler jungle (i have named it thus) were brilliant and from there on is amazing shot after amazing shot. The spaceships (new and old), the planet, the buildings, the fight scenes, the fucking gorgeous new warp graphics, everything was clean-cut and sharp.

Carol Marcus (Alice Eve). Sure, she's the new girl on the ship, and at first I was like nah she doesn't fit in. But by the end of the movie she more than proves herself capable of dealing and working with the Enterprise crew.

Bones (Karl Urban). His metaphors...oh dear lord.

Scotty (Simon Pegg). From being stranded on an ice planet, to head of engineering, to running missions solo, he can do it all. Scotty to the rescue!

Sulu (John Cho). He might not have the drive to be captain, but he sure can deliver a captain's speech like no other. I did miss his badass fencing skills though.

Chekov (Anton Yelchin). All he ever wanted was to relay messages and this new work he's assigned to is so not going to work. Poor Chekov :(

What I loved loved~
The tiny echoes to Star Trek (2009). Like Scotty yelling "Get down" or Bones standing by the captain seeking assurance. The music is the same epic one, and that sonar beep is still there. I liked the addition of the celular-device-thingy's beep, too.

Uhura (Zoe). No one can do pissed off like her and boy she will speak her mind. This girl is brave like no other and the boys totally respect that about her. She doesn't need saving, she can DO the saving! Though there's not much Spock x Uhura action, there was still some development there ;)

The 'Klingon fight' and the 'ship flight through the city fight' scenes. They aren't the only action scenes, but definitely the most notable ones. Again, all very sharp and crisp.

Spock x Khan running...Don't ask.

What I LOVED~

The Kirk x Spock bromance. Now this is the meat of the story, and let me tell you it is very juicy meat. These two do a lot of growing up and changing throughout this movie. I can't believe they made me cry! But yes, there I was tearing up because of their heart to heart moment.

Cumberbatch's flawless acting as Khan.

At the Movies: Iron Man 3

Movie: Iron Man 3
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingsley
My Rating: 10/5

No. That is not a typo on the rating I'm giving this movie.
No. I am not missing the "What I didn't like" section.
This is just how it is.


What I loved~

Pepper Potts in bad-ass violent mode. I didn't think she had it in her, but man did she go all scary for a moment! Kick ass, girl power, and all that. 

Mark #42, the suit that could not keep its shit together. A+ for bringing on the funny. Here it is chillin with Tony.

What I liked~

The Mandarin. OK...I did not see that coming. I couldn't stop laughing.

Jarvis, voiced by the handsome Paul Bettany with his panty-dropping voice. I always liked Jarvis, but here with the suits, he dominated.

Tony's vulnerable side. I knew it was in him, somewhere locked in a tight vault inside the deepest most shadowy corner of his heart.

The kid. He is awesome, that is all you need to know.

The 'bad guy minions' are not supposed to be funny! LOL They're supposed to be evil and stuff.

The after credits end scene. At least B is keeping his cool.

At the Movies: Oz the Great and Powerful

Movie: Oz the Great and Powerful  
Stars: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams
My Rating: 4/5

What I liked~

The opening sequence was black & white, very carnivalesque and quirky. It sets the tone for the movie and it's entertaining.

The presentation to the world of Oz. The super saturated colors totally worked in bringing this world alive. It was such an awesome scene with the flowers blooming, birds and butterflies flying, reeds sounding like piano keys, and the bamboo reeds whistling. Really well done, and then this little guy appears...

Yep. That's the land of Oz, cuddly looking but with sharp teeth, beautiful and dangerous. Very mischievous those water faeries.

Franco as the Great Womanizer Oz. Kunis as the Scorned Wicked Witch. Weisz as the Ultimate Evil Witch. Williams as the Good but way Cunning Witch. All the actors did a great job.

What I wished they'd done~

Make Glinda's crown real because OMG! I cringed when I saw it the first time...then I cringed some more when they showed it in a close up. Each and every time the damn crown was on scene, I cringed. Visibly shivered by the fakeness of it all. Would it have killed them to use a non-plastic one? I mean, seriously.

Let the Munchkins dance some more! lol

What I loved~

The little china girl. She's breakable but man she's got attitude ♥

At the Movies: A Good Day to Die Hard

Movie: A Good Day to Die Hard
Stars: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Yuliya Snigir, Radivoje Bukvic
My Rating: 3/5

What I liked~

The unstoppable tank-truck and how McClane stopped it. The mother of all tank trucks is after his son, and John goes after it...in a mini truck. When that get's destroyed, he goes after it AGAIN...in a Jeep. And he still wins. LOL. Seriously!

Jack/Jai's eyes. I'm a sucker for pretty boys with pretty eyes. Sue me.

A quirky villain (Bukvic). He doesn't want the unstoppable tank-truck to go faster, he wants it to fly! ...And fly it does.

What I wished they'd done~

Less stiff dialogue. I mean, it's an action movie. I don't expect lines and lines of beautiful prose, but come on. You killed the chemistry with that dialogue. What could've been an awesome John and Jack McClane 'vacation time' in Russia, came off as two actors trying and failing to play father and son. On that same note, the jokes could have use a facelift as well.

What I loved~

The sheer amount of car destruction in the first 10-15 minutes, which both made me want to weep and laugh maniacally, and the big ass military choppers bringing on the rain ♥

At the Movies: Warm Bodies

Movie: Warm Bodies 
Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Analeigh Tipton, Rob Corddry  
My Rating: 4/5

What I liked~

The actors. They all did such wonderful jobs bringing the characters to life! Hoult played R to perfection. Teresa's expressions were flawless. Analeigh did an awesome as Nora, the funny but badass friend. Last, but not least, Rob Corddry delivered some of the best lines.

The ending. Holy crap I think I like the movie ending better than the book! *hides* Seriously. The fall. The kiss. The shot! (which elicited a jump and a gasp) If I'd hated the movie, I would've still bought it for that last scene alone.

What I wished they'd included~

More of R's commentaries. The book has such great lines and while they did include some of his thoughts and dialogue lines in the movie, I felt some scenes could have benefited more from R's thoughts. Like, his inner dialogue could have easily given more depth to his struggle about comunicating with Julie and then confessing he was the one who killed her boyfriend. His inner dialogue could have also been used to explain his theory about why the zombies were turning back. There were many opportunities for his thoughts to be used. The scene would be playing and I'd be waiting for that awesome line and it never came. Most scene are just R sitting there being all sexy zombie and not delivering awesome thoughts.

What I loved~

R's eyes/ Nick Hoult's eyes. If you don't swoon over his eyes--with and without contacts--you need to check yourself and see if you're not turning into a Boney. So, yes, though there's an excess of 'silent scenes' at least I got to stare into his warm dead eyes ♥