EmmaDinkins

I was anxiously awaiting this film, especially since I had seen Divergent several times recently as it is in regular rotation on HBO. I actually recommend that anyone intent on seeing Insurgent should get a Divergent refresher, since this story picks up just days from where the first film left us. Tris (Shailene Woodley) is plagued with nightmares and torn with guilt especially over the deaths of her parents, so for most of the film we only get this soul sucking melancholy from her, unless she is in hand to hand combat and then she transforms into this lean mean fighting machine. I am fully invested in this series because of the portrayal of such strong women. Jeanine (Kate Winslet) is even more committed to her Divergent witch hunt and will stop at nothing to maintain the status quo. In this story we gain Johanna (Octavia Spencer) and Evelyn (Naomi Watts), both of which are leaders in and outside the faction system, although Natalie (Ashley Judd) was lost, somewhat. The reason that I say 'somewhat' is that with the Erudite technology to get inside someone's head, the possibility exists for anyone to resurface. If it were not for the Tris and Four (Theo James) budding love affair, this could have quickly turned into another futuristic downer. The men played an integral role in the story, they were all supporters for their respective women. I was surprised at the direction that Caleb (Ansel Elgort) chose and I was thrown aback with the initial Peter (Miles Teller) situation. I suppose it was explained in the books, which I have not read so perhaps that's why I was sitting there perplexed. Although his initial alliance wasn't explained in the film, his top priority was clear throughout the story: self preservation. This film had it all sans any comic relief, it had action adventure, drama, romance, deception, great special effects and a reasonable running time. I for one am now anxiously awaiting Allegiant.

I was excited about seeing this film although I do recall last year that the chatter about it was less than favorable. My thinking was, how bad could it be coming from the Wachowski's who had given us the The Matrix trilogy? Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) works in a domestic capacity and basically hates her life. I thought the opening backstory of her birth and life was a bit lengthy, however it did paint a drab picture so that you could understand her distaste for her circumstances. When things did get moving it seemed like chase scene after chase scene, out of which two important factors became known. I had always wondered why no one ever remembers when aliens destroy major cities and how they are rebuilt so quickly and finally the mystery of crop circles has been solved. I feel like it is getting redundant to complement first rate special effects, because that is becoming the new normal. If a film has poor special effects, then that is when I will have to go in. But here it is, the special effects were Tony the Tiger great. The acting was top shelf as well, I wasn't really familiar with Eddie Redmayne (Balem Abraxas) until recently during Award season with his best actor nod for The Theory of Everything, but this dude is off the chain. I will say this, if you don't like your life you should consider that you might end up taken to another world drawn into a power struggle for the planet earth, manipulated, lied to and on a galactic hit list. I actually liked the film, although there were times that it failed like how the civil bureaucracy run around almost put me to sleep. This was seriously a when worlds collide story, but for me it worked.

The future of the teen to twenties continues to have a consistent tone in science fiction and fantasy. Either grow up and be responsible or die! I know that is a bit harsh but The Maze Runner and others like the Hunger Games paints a bleak picture in general in which the adults in charge build a world in which the only objective for its youth is survival. The star of this thrill 'run', Dylan O'Brien (Thomas) has been on my radar for the past few years as I must admit Teen Wolf is one of my television viewing guilty pleasures. The past few seasons he has emerged as an amazing talent and really showcased his emotional range when possessed by the Nogitsune in season 3. He is quite convincing in this role. I knew I would see this film but hadn't decided upon IMAX until the day of, and I have to say it was worth it to experience it in the biggest and boldest format for a feature film. As someone who had not read the book, I came in with no preconceived notions about the fundamentals, like WTF a giant maze, really!?! Yes, the trailer does give an indication that it is a test of some sort, but still. So I was contemplating how long would it take for the story to divulge what's behind it all, but I wasn't bored nor was I left feeling neglected by being unfamiliar. The mystery of what was taking place was part of my fascination with this film, working things out along with Thomas. My excitement continued to ebb as I ventured into the maze with him and Minho (Ki Hong Lee) as did my trepidation. This was a good movie, not saying it was great, but I enjoyed it for its entertainment value. I'm usually big on the special effects which has a significant baring on whether I see a film on the big screen or wait for it to come to video, but in this case the effects were not the star, the actors were, which is how it should be done.