Divergent Movie (2014)

Title: Divergent

Year: 2014

Director: Neil Burger

Rating (by the MPAA): PG-13 for intense violence and action, thematic elements and some sensuality

Official Synopsis: DIVERGENT is a thrilling action-adventure film set in a world where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) is warned she is Divergent and will never fit into any one group. When she discovers a conspiracy by a faction leader (Kate Winslet) to destroy all Divergents, Tris must learn to trust in the mysterious Four (Theo James) and together they must find out what makes being Divergent so dangerous before it's too late.

Official Page and IMDb Page

STEPH SAID

Rating:

Review:

I watched this movie before reading the book. I hadn't even watched the trailer before I watched it, so, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I just knew it was a movie based on a big YA novel. The movie was also big enough to spawn the sequels. I knew I needed to watch it. At first, I was really confused about all the different names: Abnegation, Erudite, Amity etc. I couldn't remember what each of them stood for; which name was which group. Not even the colors helped. However, when Tris joined Dauntless the names became less important.

This movie is such a close adaptation of the book, that I might as well copy and paste the book review. My feelings and thoughts about the story are the same, whether it is in book form or movie form. That's why I decided to focus on the differences between the movie and the book. The movie improved some  things (like using “neuro-stim darts” in capture the flag), but damaged others that were perfect.

Mashing up the fear landscapes was one of the best time-saver changes the movie made. In the book the mental/emotional training is divided into two parts. For the first part initiates go into the fear landscape and try to control their emotions. During the second part, they need to confront their fears. The movie mixed these two training sessions into one, saving time, and pushing the initiates to the limit.

The main plot of the movie –

the Abnegation attack, led by Erudite

– saw a better ending in the movie than in the book. In the movie, the simulation was stopped, and

Jeanine's Divergence was implied. (Which would make complete sense considering her natural tendency to not conform to society and, thus, accept Abnegation's leadership.)

Whereas in the book the Dauntless soldiers are left haywire and shooting at each other, and nothing is mentioned about

whether Jeanine is Divergent, or not.

One thing I didn't like about the movie is the loss of Tris' abnegation side. She is Divergent; she has aptitude for Dauntless, Erudite and Abnegation. Even more so, she was raised as an Abnegation. Yet, she easily starts wearing tight clothes and getting tattoos, just as a an excuse to talk to someone. After reading the book I realized it is a fault of the movie. The book somewhat delves into Tris psyche and helps the reader understand the complexity of her transition from Abnegation to Dauntless.

If I had to choose between the movie and book, I will definitely choose the book. The movie is really good, its story is more compacted and action packed, yet the book's story is richer and more psychological, which makes it better in my eyes.

Orphan Black - Season 2

Title: Orphan Black

Broadcasting Station: BBC America

Official Synopsis: Season two of BBC AMERICA’s dramatic conspiracy thriller, Orphan Black, hits the ground running with Sarah (Golden Globe® nominee Tatiana Maslany, Parks and Recreation) in a desperate race to find her missing daughter Kira (Skyler Wexler) – a wild pursuit that brings her head-to-head with ruthless pro-clone, Rachel (Maslany). This season also rejoins Sarah’s clone sisters Alison (Maslany) and Cosima (Maslany) as they struggle to keep their clone world a secret and pick up the pieces of their broken lives – all while dealing with the harsh reality that no one around them can be trusted. 

Official Page

Official Trailer

  *This TV series has been rated TV-MA, for mature audiences.*


STEPH SAID

Rating: 

Review:

Politics and power plays are at the center of this season. This season is all about trust; the main clones, along with the viewers, won't be able to decide who to trust. Everyone seem to have a hidden agenda, which leads to many scams, betrayals and lots of suspense. The episodes were so packed, that many times the development of the story was implied through one line. For example, why waste time telling a new character the clone story when the viewer already knows it? Better skip ahead to when the character is fully informed and is O.K. with the idea of clones. This leaves more time for plot development. This is how TV should be: quick, resourceful, and rich in drama.

I still cannot believe that Tatiana Maslany hasn't received an Emmy nomination. She is so wonderful, that I regularly forget that it is her, the same actress, who portrays all of the clones. Maslany is so great, that you can tell when she is acting as a character who is acting as another. She can act as Sarah acting as Alison or Cosima, and you can tell. Maslany is also full of surprises. Just when you begin to believe you have seen it all, she goes on to act as a man. I was speechless. She even looked more “manly” Jordan Gavaris, than who plays her foster brother.

Thoughts about recurrent/minor characters are as follow. A) Angie is getting on my nerves. She is the character that I disliked the most. I dislike her even more that I dislike Rachel. B) I don't know what to think of Cal yet, since I barely know him. C) I was glad to see Helena again. I know she is evil, but, to me, she is only misguided. That is why she is so crazy, and yet so gullible and naive at the same time. D) Scott's personality added a nice touch to the story. The scene where he is playing a board game with his friends, and Cosima joins them was pretty funny. E) It was so nice to see Death – I mean Ben, as a minor character. F) Last, but not least, is Donnie. He surprised me this season. He went from an annoying idiot to a budding bad-ass in one episode.

The ending was both surprising and promising. I didn't see it coming. I was a bit lost during the final minutes of the finale. It had too much coded talk too fast, at least for me. Still, the big message came across easily enough. And, once I knew what is was, I was left craving more Orphan Black.