Director: Neil Burger
Writers: Evan Daugherty (screenplay), Vanessa Taylor (screenplay)
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet

Synopsis: In a world divided by factions based on virtues, Tris learns she’s Divergent and won’t fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it’s too late.

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INTRO
Aeriel shots of a futuristic yet decaying Chicago. Music playing in the background. Residents are divided into different factions: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless and Erudite. Beatrice goes in for her Aptitude test to determine the fact she best fits in. Her results are inconclusive and she is told she is suited for more than one faction. Beatriz is told she is “Divergent”.

DIRECTION
Reviewing these types of films is always a challenge for critics, as we are not the target demographic. Earlier, this month I placed Divergent on my worst list for March because of the failure of movies like Mortal Instruments, Vampire Academy and The Host. Divergent to me is not a perfect film by any means but it does a lot of things well. Most of the problems with it lie on the director Neil Burger and the screenwriters Evan Daugherty and Vanessa Taylor, for difficulties translating from book to screen. Divergent runs about 2 hours and 19 minutes, yet only get a brief background on the circumstances surrounding the Prior family so when things start happening, it does not really elect a response from the non-book readers. The film seems to dwell too much into the plot as our main character is able to figure out everything that she needed to and resolve the issues all before the credits end. I would have wanted more background on maybe why the cities are divided anyways as well as why the city is decaying. If you are going to have a running time of 140 minutes answering a few of this would have been great, if not then cut the film down by a few minutes. The production design could have been better as this Chicago does not really seem to keep up with the emotion the film is trying to capture. Most of the reviews for this film are negative because it is compared too often to The Hunger Games. I understand the comparison, but every book or film has some idea that was rooted from something else. I think Divergent is off to a great start primarily on the strong roles of Shailene Woodley and Theo James and all other issues such as plot gaps, production can all be fixed in the next installment.

Grade: C

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SCRIPT
In the quick opening, we get a background of the various factions: Abnegation, meant for the selfless; Amity, meant for the peaceful; Candor, meant for the honest; Dauntless, meant for the brave; and Erudite, meant for the Intelligent. Beatrice (Shailene Woodley) and her family are currently in the Abnegation faction. Beatrice knew she never quite fit in with her faction’s selfless nature and when she takes her aptitude test we realize why she does not solely fit into Abnegation. When Choosing Day arrives, both Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and Beatrice shock the entire community when they choose new factions. Caleb selects the snobbish Erudite faction, led by the power-hungry Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet). Beatrice, chooses the Dauntless, which for some odd reason, they run everywhere and dress like a mix between a S.H.E.I.L.D agent and a Hot Topic employee. Once she starts initiation, Beatrice then chooses the new name “Tris”. The vast majority of the film takes place in the Dauntless faction where the initiates have to go through extensive training and hand-to-hand combat to determine who has what it takes to be Dauntless. And what is a young adult novel without a love interest? Four (Theo James) is the man takes a liking to Tris, giving her looks that only a R. Kelly song could have given justice to. Four looks after her, especially from a dull Jai Courtney, who plays Eric. In between the Nicholas Sparks style romance, a power struggle is deepen between the Erudites and Abnegation, and Tris soon figures out why being a nonconforming Divergent could prove so perilous.

Grade: B

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RELATED: Nymphomaniac: Part I Review

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PERFORMANCES
Right away we can already get a Hunger Games sense from this film and as it goes along the same themes of corruption and government rebellion from The Hunger Games also ties in to this film. The similarities do not stop there as both young adult novels have strong female characters. Much of the success of Hunger Games is the strong character of Katniss, backed by the terrific acting of Jennifer Lawrence. Divergent’s female protagonist is Beatrice Pryor, later known as Tris, played by the lovely and talented Shailene Woodley. Woodley did an outstanding job in The Spectular Now, and many will wonder if she has the on-screen presence to carry a film of this magnitude. Most critics are quick to bash her performance but I on the other hand, think she did a fantastic job and every scene with her was never a dull moment. Woodley had natural chemistry with Theo James and I admire her for getting in there and not getting afraid to get her hands dirty. We know all about Katniss’ story, but what she does in Divergent is special. What Divergent does well is having Tris, actually use hard-work and dedication to move up the ranks in Dauntless. Besides Woodley and James, Miles Teller, although brief, delivers a nice change of pace performance as Peter. Zoe Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, and Christian Madsen all do good work as the various people who either help or harm Tris as she tries to figure out things.

Grade: A

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SCORE
The score by Junkie XL, works well for this type of film and playing songs be Ellie Goulding fits perfectly with the film. Junkie XL has some pretty good work coming out lately and this isn’t any different. Good stuff.

Grade: A

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FINAL THOUGHTS
Divergent will learn from its mistakes for the next film, but I am all in on this series. Woodley, I am glad that you delivered in this role and I think Tris could beat Katniss is a test of wills. Divergent, I am sorry that I wrote you off before giving you a chance. The only question left to be answered is if this film can surpass its 85 million dollar budget. I am sure the fan base is big enough but for every once else that is unsure I hope my review can help you decide to see this film because it is a highly enjoyable film that Twilight should have been.

Overall Grade: B

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sutgWjz10sM]

Director: Rob Thomas
Writers: Rob Thomas (screenplay), Diane Ruggiero (screenplay)
Stars: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni

Synopsis: Years after walking away from her past as a teenage private eye, Veronica Mars gets pulled back to her hometown – just in time for her high school reunion – in order to help her old flame Logan Echolls, who’s embroiled in a murder mystery.

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INTRO
I must preface that I have not seen the TV show. So, while I’m not a Marshmallow, I’m also not a hater by any means. I’m just an outsider who got a first taste on the franchise during the film.

DIRECTION
Well after a long wait, Rob Thomas and his crew are back as they take Veronica Mars from the small screen to the big one. Fans of the TV show will more than likely fall in back in love right away. The opening is a montage of old clips as Kristen Bell walks us through where they’ve been and what is the latest happenings on everyone. Thomas is trying hard not to exclude non-fans and sets up the story well for the most part. However, if you’re an outsider, you’re always a little distant as it feels mostly like a continuation of sorts, which can be ambiguous at times. Thomas uses lots of inside jokes that fans will surely love though. And let’s be honest, the fans paid for this project, so catering to them was not a bad idea at all. The use of voice-over, silly innuendo’s and mystery made for a great time, which I’ve been assured is just how the show felt. Plus, anytime you can get James Franco can make a cameo putting on skinny jeans, you’re okay in my book.

Grade: B+

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SCRIPT
Well it’s been ten years since the last time people saw Veronica Mars do anything exciting and since then, she’s mostly just moping around, going to law school and trying to figure out what to do with her life. She’s also dating “Piz”, someone who I’m sure fans of the show will know more about. It’s not long before we find out that her ex-flame, Logan Echolls, is accused of murder and Veronica’s PI addiction comes running back. From there we see Veronica do her thing, leaving a wake of consequences behind her, something she knew would happen. The mystery of this story is solid and compelling as this environment could bring. However, Thomas’ script leaves little room for supporting characters and some sub-plots are left unattended too, which took the air out of them. Veronica’s love arcs, both of them, are not very believable and needed more depth to add any value (maybe the show provided some of that? Help me out fans). The dialogue they create though, is very funny, clever and used perfectly through and through. Thomas does a great job of blending humor with dramatic elements making the mystery very stimulating.

Grade: B+

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RELATED: Nymphomaniac: Part I Review

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PERFORMANCES
Kristen Bell was fantastic as Veronica, as you could imagine, and really carried the film well. Bell can be hit or miss for me, but she was solid in this role. And she really needed to be as all the other supporting characters are very small and mostly shallow, except for Jason Dohring as Logan and Enrico Colantoni has some great scenes as Veronica’s dad. Again, haven’t seen the show, but did not buy Dohring in his role very much. Perhaps true to character, but from a first glance, he’s dull, subdued and mostly mundane throughout the film. And he’s a murder suspect? Certainly didn’t feel that way. Colantoni added some nice moments as did Chris Lowell as Piz, however his story arc ended abruptly that didn’t feel genuine. Most of the other supporting characters were fine though and did what was needed. James Franco, Justin Long, Dax Shepard and Max Greenfield were a nice surprise cameos that were terrific as well.

Grade: A-

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SCORE
Josh Kramon, who scored the original TV series, came back as well to give us the music for the film. Usually this is one of my favorite elements of film, however, this score was mostly subdued, boring at times and very generic. The ending sequence and some mystery elements were good but outside of that, it’s very forgettable.

Grade: C

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FINAL THOUGHTS
Veronica Mars, from an outside perspective, is a little ambiguous at times and will leave you with some questions to annoy your friends with who do know the show. Some story arcs were not handled well and it’s really just the Kristen Bell show. That being said, this is still a fun movie. The mystery elements were fun and the overall story is pretty good that will leave you engaged throughout the film. It’s obvious they are catering to the fans though, who I’m sure will just have a ball with this film. If you’re a Marshmallow, the inside jokes and jabs at the original show will be fun and to see all these characters come back I’m sure was a treat.

Overall Grade: B

Director: Scott Waugh
Writers: George Gatins
Stars: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Scott Mescudi, Michael Keaton

Synopsis: Fresh from prison, a street racer who was framed by a wealthy business associate joins a cross country race with revenge in mind. His ex-partner, learning of the plan, places a massive bounty on his head as the race begins.

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INTRO
The year was 1994 and like most young boys I was excited for the release of Need for Speed. Need for Speed was a great game series and as it evolved it still dealt with the same premise that Speed was the key to success. Since Need for Speed, there has been other successful car games such as Gran Tourism. It’s not as easy as creating films about cars using fast and furious and Getaway as prime example of the good and the downright awful. As soon as I saw found out Need for Speed was being adapted to a feature film, I was ready to write this movie off.

DIRECTION
I first want to start off saying that this film owes me an apology. It promised to be something new and different, when it is as bad as the pairing of Hemsworth and Kristen Stewart. The first gear to NFS is an absolute disaster and takes way too long to try to establish a conflict. The dialogue is terrible at best and we are introduced to too many characters quickly where you become uninterested. Director Scott Waugh, gets very high praise for the practical effect stunts. Every car chase, crash, and race is performed with real stunt drivers without the use of CGI (Thank God). You mix that, with the some of the best looking cars in the world it will get you excited if you are a car fanatic, I would advise to bring a change of underwear. Too bad none of this matters when you get a headache from the lousy camera angles.

Grade: C

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SCRIPT
Aarpn Paul stars as Tobey Marshall, an auto-mechanic, who has a knack for illegal street racing. Marshall races to pay off debts accumulated by his shop because nobody is a fan of Pimp My Ride. What’s a racing movie without two standout racers? Dominic Cooper, stars as Dino Brewster, a rich sociopath who must win at all costs. Despite his skills in the upgrade game, Dino decides to show up one day and offer Tobey a deal of lifetime. Tempers flare when Justin Beiber lookalike, Pete (Harrison Gilbertson), burst out that Marshall is the superior racer after Marshall test drove a Mustang they build as a demo. In typical Beiber fashion, he begs to join the race and from there you can imagine what happens. Ultimately, for me where the film fails is in the premise itself. How does traveling from New York to California to compete in an undisclosed race help avenge a death and your wrongful jail time? I understand it’s a movie but logically this just does not make any sense at all. By street racing again on parole it is obvious that you will go to jail again if caught. The plot is very predictable and of course in every racing scene with Tobey and Dino is done so that every other “racer” is a space filler.

Grade: D

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RELATED: Nymphomaniac: Part I Review

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PERFORMANCES
Most of the bad acting and dialogue came from a Justin Beiber look-a-like. Every scene that Pete was in was as dull as Stewart’s facial expressions. Imogen Poots, I do however owe an apology to. I criticized her performance in The Awkward Moment and in the beginning of this movie, it was very awkward to see her on screen. As the movie progressed, Poots proved to be more than a pretty face as she showed great comedic timing and made you believe in her role. Aaron Paul gives a decent enough performance to get you to root for him and he has great chemistry with Poots (sorry Zac Efron). Michael Keaton, played the role of Monarch with great ease as he never acted onscreen with anybody. Keaton was able to get the movie interesting with his witty and upbeat commentary.

Grade: C

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SCORE
The beautiful thing about any racing film is that pretty much any type of music with a good beat will suffice so Nathan Furst had to find the right mixes and he accomplish that. The film features music by LInkin Park and Kid Cudi.

Grade: B

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FINAL THOUGHTS
If Need for Speed’s intend was for it to be what Getaway was supposed to be, than it succeeded. If NFS was trying to be its own movie, then it failed miserably. If you are expecting this to be anything like Fast and The Furious, then sorry BOO-BOO.

Overall Grade: C

Director: Lars von Trier
Writers: Lars von Trier
Stars: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf

Synopsis: The continuation of Joe’s sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman’s care.

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DIRECTION
In Nymphomaniac: Vol I, Lars von Trier throws us into the world of sex addiction in the way only von Trier can do. Part II however, while not as graphic overall, takes a deeper, darker turn. Von Trier continues the flashback story device but kicks it up a notch it terms of maturity and brokenness. The film overall seems more grey in terms of aesthetic and the ambiance becomes very bleak. However, even in it’s bleakness, von Trier uses brilliant dialogue and metaphors that is gripping and sometimes even visually appealing. Part II, while more dark, was still fluid in terms of telling this story, until the third act, which becomes something that Hollywood would be proud of. The film turns into something more contrived and feels very out of place, leaving a feeling of disappointment and a bad taste in your mouth.

Grade: B+

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SCRIPT
The script for Nymphomaniac: Part II is a bit twofold, which may work for some, but oveall feels a bit distant. The first two acts continue the brilliance of telling this story of addiction, how insecurity and lonliness become driving factors and then drives it off of a cliff. Joe continues her struggle as things become worse and worse. She starts to lose the feeling of pleasure and this leaves her more desperate than ever. She becomes careless and eventually becomes pregnant. Even with a child, one you can tell she adores, she does everything in her power to bring her pleasure back and this is always her main focus. The repercussions of neglect are never on her mind until it becomes too late. Sex therapy, counseling and support groups are explored in some fascinating ways as you see the addiction start to eat her alive. At times her fight is pure and strong, but it’s the mental fight that von Trier explores that’s very compelling. Well, at least until the third act arrives. At this point, von Trier…goes Hollywood? Everything up to this point felt natural and authentic while bathing arduousness and bleakness, which was anything but mundane. However, the last act is contrived, shallow and feel extremely forced, especially the last few sequences of the film. It felt so out of left field for this story and yet it feels so familiar and stereotypical.

Grade: B

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RELATED: Nymphomaniac: Part I Review

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PERFORMANCES
Charlotte Gainsbourg and Stacy Martin once again do a fabulous job bringing this story to life and despite some scripting issues, they shine through and through. Gainsbourg gets out of the bed more in this one and we see her in some more depressing scenes, which she delivers on well. Stellan Skarsgård as Seligman is fantastic once again. His character, well I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say he does a great job. And Mr. I’m Not Famous Anymore does a solid job as well, although he doesn’t have much to do. Say what you want, but LaBeouf can act if he wants to, despite his mental loss.

Grade: A

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SCORE
Once again von Trier uses no original score, but uses some nice classical pieces that fill the music spaces very well. The music in this setting isn’t as prominent, given the content we are ingesting. However, there are some scenes where the music shines and is used well to bring those certain moments to life. Overall, there’s good stuff here if you pay attention enough to hear it.

Grade: A-

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FINAL THOUGHTS
Nymphomaniac Part 2 isn’t quite as strong as Part 1, which was disappointing but there are some strong elements here that make it interesting. To see a women’s life just continue to fall apart is depressing but what does it say about the choices we make and how to seek help if we need to? Those themes are explored well through the first two-thirds of the film and the dynamics she has with everyone in her life shines a light on why addiction is something to be taken seriously. The final sequences though, just took the air out of the tires. It was like driving a race car in first place but as you’re about to cross the finish line to win, you slam the car up against the wall for no reason. Just didn’t seem to fit the rest of the film at all. (Slight Spoiler) Given Joe’s life, it’s not surprising and it’s something you see coming a mile away.

Overall Grade: B

)

Director: Lars von Trier
Writers: Lars von Trier
Stars: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf

Synopsis: A self-diagnosed nymphomaniac recounts her erotic experiences to the man who saved her after a beating.

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DIRECTION
Lars von Trier has always been known for pushing boundaries and as you can expect here, von Treir takes taboo and pushes in into the norm as sexuality and insecurity reign supreme. The aesthetic he creates from the very beginning suggests a tone that only you can expect from von Trier. The use of flashback storytelling and fly-fishing comparisons were brilliantly manipulated to catapult us into nymphomania. While boundaries were never considered, it never feels out of line or repulsive and is crucial to carrying the story forward, which gets intense and intimate. Von Trier uses some creative camera work when exploring sexuality, yet at times he’s more straight forward and even pornographic. While some shots were arguably not necessary, it’s never too distracting and you become engaged in this fascinating world.

Grade: A-

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SCRIPT
While the story is caped in nymphomania, the story really revolves around insecurity and how that elevates addiction to pretty rough territories. The story revolves around Joe, who finds herself hurt and beaten, when a nearby neighbor, Seligman, comes to her rescue. Once they settle down, Joe starts to recount her life to Seligman and how sex-addiction became an identity to her from an early age. Seligman, on the other hand, is a life-long virgin who helps her analyze her addiction and how it’s impacted her. The conversations are intelligent but also real and compelling. What’s interesting is the exploration of how Joe starts to realize that her sex addiction is something more at the core. At the center of every women is a desire to be loved and to be wanted, yet her isolation only drives her addiction and insecurity becomes her best friend. When she finds out that the “secret ingredient to sex is love”, it flips her world upside down. It’s that battle between the want and the overpowering desire for pleasure that pushes the story into some provocative and rich places.

Grade: A

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RELATED: 300: Rise of an Empire Review

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PERFORMANCES
Charlotte Gainsbourg and Stacy Martin do a fabulous of playing Joe and young Joe respectively. Martin’s body language is elegant in selling the sexy behavior this character dives head first in and her sex scenes seem more than genuine. The graphic nature never seems overbearing for our actors and they do a wonderful job. Stellan Skarsgård, of Thor fame of recent, is masterful as Seligman. His fly-fishing comparisons are brilliant and his dynamics with Gainsbourg are important for creating that authentic feeling this film explores. Shia LaBeouf has a limited role in Part 1 but he does a good job and has an accent to boot. Regardless of his mental stability over the last several months, the dude can act and he shows that once again here.

Grade: A

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SCORE
There is no original score but von Trier uses some classical pieces that fill the music void very nicely. The music is a stimulating companion to the story and in some scenes it elevate’s the content. And while most of the music is nice orchestral pieces, you will recognize Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf.

Grade: A-

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FINAL THOUGHTS
Nymphomaniac Part 1 is a strong exploration of self-discovery and how insecurity at it’s core fuels nymphomania. Along side that, Joe uses her sexual power as a woman to seduce men at will and fill the void that seems to be driving her wild. Although at times she tries to fight it, addiction is a powerful weapon and von Trier shows that magnificiently. Sure, some of it can seem graphic to some and von Trier uses all of his NC-17 rating, but if you can get past that, there’s so many elements beneath the surface that make this film fascinating.

Overall Grade: A-

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Director: Noam Murr
Writers: Zack Snyder (screenplay), Kurt Johnstad (screenplay)
Stars: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey

Synopsis: Greek general Themistokles leads the charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and Artemisia, vengeful commander of the Persian navy.

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DIRECTION
Are you a sidechick? Do you enjoy Scandal? If you answered yes to either of these questions then you will absolutely love 300: Rise of an Empire. Unless you were single in 2006, you probably were dragged to see 300 in one way or another. It might of been for the violence or for the abs, which were harder than Jaden Smith character in  After Earth. If you ever wondered what a headache looks like, then Rise of an Empire is perfect for you. Director Noam Murro thinks he knows what made 300 popular. Murro thinks that we value the storyline so he feels it’s important to educate us on the background of the events surrounding 300. The film starts off with an audio-book style narrative, courtesy of Lena Headey, that will even cause the energizer bunny to nap. Murro employs flashbacks, bad camera shots, awful CGI and by far the most annoying thing was all the slow-motion fighting scenes. The fighting scenes really pissed me off because this movie believed that the more blood the better and in this case he was too much. When people got cut they had an excessive amount of blood rushing out. Apparently, losing rivers of blood was not enough to kill certain people. I do not know about you but if I lost more blood than most PG-13 movies combined, I will not be able to still reach Super Saiyan levels.

Grade: D

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SCRIPT
Rise of an Empire tells the story of the side-chick, Artemisia, and her game of battleship with Athens and their leader Themistocles. The events of this movie take place before, during, and after the events in 300. In the most boring narrative ever, we learn how Xerxes became a God-King, and I was dying of laughter as it was explained. After Themistocles killed the previous King Darius with an arrow that will put Hawkeye to shame, Xerxes, looking like the Son of God, goes into a cave and into water. He then emerges from Trinidad James’ closet and becomes the all gold everything God-King we all know.

Grade: F

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RELATED: Pompeii Review

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PERFORMANCES
To keep actors employed, studios sometimes make movies for no reason and this film is one of those pointless movies. 300: Rise of an Empire stars Lena Headey, Rodrigo Santoro, David Wenham, and Andrew Tiernan reprising their roles from the first film, alongside Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Hans Matheson, Callan Mulvey, and Jack O’Connell. In between the headache, you get a rush when you see an awkward-yet-fun sex scene between the sidechick and Themistocles. The lone bright spot for this film is the roles of Green and Stapleton. Green did the best job she could with the poor dialogue and script, while Stapleton proved to be a great leader.

Grade: C

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SCORE
Junkie XL was the man in charge of placing music to the senseless fighting. The score is very noticeable despite all the sounds of war. I could not picture anything better than the strong beats and dark tone for this movie because listening to Iconic Pop probably would not have worked as well here.

Grade: B

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IS IT WORTH IT?
300: Rise of an Empire is a movie that should not have been made as it is a glorified game of Battleship. If you want to watch this movie, I would suggest to watch it under the influence of the same thing that was passed around the Oscars because the movie will speak to you then.

Overall Grade: D

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