Movie Review: Divergent

Walking into this movie, I knew the reviews were not so good. They said it was predictable and only good because of the acting on Shailene Woodley. Well, no offense at all to Ms. Woodley, but this movie worked because of much more than her. And this is coming from a huge fan of the book series that inspired the film.

Woodley stars as Beatrice Prior, a quiet girl who leaves her family of the selfless abnegation for the brave, and often times crazy, dauntless. There, she meets Four, played with a quite charm by Theo James (most known as the Turkish Diplomat who died in Lady Mary's bed in Downton Abbey). There is political intrigue, romance, and battle sequences galore. So really, there is something for everyone to enjoy.

The movie succeeds not just because of the acting of Woodley, but of the whole cast. Woodley shows that she is not just a good actress in small, critically acclaimed types (such as The Spectacular Now and The Decedents). She can also be a star in the big budget types as well. James brings the brooding to new heights and grace as the initiate instructor who has a soft side that is brought out every so often. Kate Winslet is an even better villain than I could have dreamed. Miles Teller plays the part of the jerk so well, it is making me not want to meet him in real life. And Ansel Elgort shows that he can steal scenes as Caleb, Beatrice's brother who also happens to leave the abnegation, but for Erudite.  Elgort also makes me feel much better about his casting in the upcoming The Fault in Our Stars adaptation opposite Woodley. He can hold his own.

This is a movie about finding one's self when no one else wants you too. And I think it held up to the message of the book. And if you don't agree with me, just star as Theo James and enjoy the many action sequences.

Final say: Don't listen to the mass of critics. This is a movie worth seeing and has the potential to become a beloved saga just below the level of The Hunger Games (and that is high, high praise).

Grade: A -

The Joys (and Sorrows) of Binge Watching

We have all been there. Our friends and family members tell us to watch a show and that if you do, it will be the greatest thing that will ever happen. We finally give in and we realize that these persistent little buggers were right all along.

Step one: You start watching and figure "hey, this is pretty good. I should have started watching ages ago."

Step two: You watch so many episodes in such a short time that you cannot focus on anything else. All you want to do is talk about what is happen.

Step three: A perpetual fear of spoilers. Yes, learning about what happens behind the scenes is fun, but it is almost impossible by this point to learn about all of those goodies without finding out something juicy about your favorite characters.

Step four: It's all over. You get to the end and either you are either caught up with where the show is in its current season or the show is done forever. And that leads to...

Step five: Depression. The only way to make this go away is to find a new binge watchable show. And then the cycle begins anew.

The best shows to binge watch: Scandal, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Parks and Recreation, How I Met Your Mother, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black

Oscar Winners 2014

And the winners are...

Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Lupito Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave

Best Animated Feature: Frozen

Best Cinematography: Gravity

Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby

Best Directing: Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity

Best Documentary Feature: 20 Feet From Stardom

Best Documentary Short: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life

Best Film Editing: Gravity

Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club

Best Original Score: Gravity

Best Original Song: Let It Go - Frozen

Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby

Best Animated Short Film: Mr. Hublot

Best Live Action Short Film: Helium

Best Sound Editing: Gravity

Best Sound Mixing: Gravity

Best Visual Effects: Gravity

Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave

Best Original Screenplay: Her

Quick Thoughts on Oscar Nominees

Every year I say I am going to do it and this year I actually succeeded: I have watched every movie nominated for Best Picture and every movie with an actor or actress nominated in all the major acting categories.

Here are miniature reviews for all the movies nominated for Best Picture.

American Hustle: Tied as my favorite film of the year, this is a fun, eccentric, probably less than half-true take on the Abscam case of the 1970s. With incredible acting and directing that shows David O Russell is really hitting his stride, it is no surprise that this film is nominated in all the major categories. It's category with the strongest chance? Best Supporting Actress nominee Jennifer Lawrence.

Captain Phillips: If Gravity did not exist, this movie would have been one of the most stressful thing I had seen in years. Tom Hanks gives a performance that makes you question the voters' sanity when he was not nominated for Best Actor, but it was newcomer Barkhad Abdi that stole the show and made the Somali pirate seem almost like the one to cheer for.

Dallas Buyers Club: This is the movie that will probably earn Matthew McConaughey an Oscar win. If you told me there was even a chance of this a few short years ago, I would have said that you were crazy. With this intense and beautiful movie, it is extremely likely that we will here "alright, alright, alright" out of his mouth on Oscar night.

Gravity: I still cannot quite fathom how this movie was made. If Alfonso Cuaron does not win for Best Director, it will be a travesty on par with Crash beating out Brokeback Mountain. It also has a strong chance of becoming an Oscar winner for Best Picture.

Her: Out of all the nominated films, this is probably the most heartwarming and adorable of the bunch, which I never thought possible from a Joaquin Phoenix film. It also has the most original screenplay and is a strong contender in that race.

Nebraska: Bruce Dern and breakout actress June Squibb make this movie the masterpiece that it is. Sure, it has a great script and the overall acting by other characters is great, but without these two, the movie would not be nominated in this category.

Philomena: This movie will wreck you more than you think. I will be honest, I was not looking forward to this one. However, the depth of passion that Judi Dench brings to the title role make it obvious why so many thought this little film deserved a nomination. Unfortunately for it though, this is too strong a year for movies that it is highly unlikely that it will win any awards come Oscar night.

12 Years a Slave: There is no more intense and devastating movie this year, or maybe even in a few years, than this one. Due to it's historical significance and sensation acting by Lupita Nyongo, Michael Fassbender, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, this film is a major favorite to bring home the little gold man statuette.

The Wolf of Wall Street: Also tied for my favorite movie of the year, Leonardo Dicaprio brings out his wild side in one of his best performances of his career (and that's saying something with a resume like his). It is no wonder that Jonah Hill worked for only $60,000 on this crazy, over-the-top, drug-addled Scorsese masterpiece.

So what will win the Oscar this year? Really, it is anyone's guess.