Get Life's a Mystery

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Episode 4 is over a day late, I'm going through withdrawal!

Get Life's a Mystery

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Episode 4 is over a day late, I'm going through withdrawal!

Get Divergent

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"Divergent" will inevitably be compared by many to that other YA book series, "Hunger Games." And while both books have strong young heroines, the books and movies are actually quite different. See the movie and judge for yourself. I went to see it with my family, but the theater had audiences of all ages - from older 40-50 something couples, to groups of high school-college friends, to middle schoolers with their friends or families. I would recommend this to the same audience that went to see "Hunger Games" - PG-13 and up.



For those not familiar with Veronica Roth's book, "Divergent" is the story of Beatrice (Tris) Prior, a young lady living in futuristic Chicago. Due to post-war effects, their society is divided into 5 factions that represent 5 virtues - Abnegation (selflessness/service to others), Candor (honesty), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (peace) and Erudite (knowledge/learning). Those who do not belong to a faction (basically, ostracized from society) are called "factionless." When they come of age, they attend a ceremony to select the faction they will join for the rest of their lives. Most choose the faction they are born in, while others may "defect." During the pre-ceremony aptitude test, Beatrice is told that her test results were "inconclusive", meaning she doesn't see to belong to a specific group. They call this "Divergent." Their society views "Divergents" as dangerous so Beatrice must keep this secret to protect her life. When she chooses her faction, she meets her new mentor and trainer Four and the brutal Eric and forms friendships with other new initiates Christina, Will and Al. The physical and mental training (think "boot camp") is intensive and challenging and Tris needs to find a way to survive. She eventually finds an ally in Four, who isn't quite what he seems.



The movie does a great job introducing the faction-based society to audiences, so you don't need to have read the book to enjoy or understand the plot. Having read the book, I would say I am very satisfied with the casting choices and the outcome of the film. I would consider this a faithful adaptation to the book - some scenes were excised due to time constraints and/or continuity/flow, but this is understandable if you take into account the differences between the book vs. film medium.



In terms of casting, I admit I was skeptical about Shailene Woodley (Tris) at first. Physically, she doesn't quite match up to book Tris (who is supposed to be small and waif-ish). But Shailene has the ability to take on this role of a vulnerable and conflicted young woman at the beginning of the film who grows in strength and confidence as the story goes on. Some would say that Theo James is much older than his book counterpart, but I can clearly see why he was chosen to play the complex Four. Theo plays Four with quiet strength and charisma - he is an imposing authority figure, but there is some vulnerability a well. He won me over from the first scene and he and Shailene have an undeniable chemistry. Kate Winslet (Jeanine Matthews), Jai Courtney (Eric) and Miles Teller (Peter) are also stand-outs. The remaining main supporting cast are Tony Goldwyn and Ashley Judd (Tris' parents), Ansel Elgort (Caleb - Tris' brother), Ray Stevenson (Marcus Eaton) and Tris' fellow initiates Zoe Kravitz (Christina), Ben Lloyd Hughes (Will) and Christian Madsen (Al). They capture the essence of their book counterparts very well and, while they are currently relative unknowns, I can see bright futures for the young cast. (And, yes, girls and boys, whether intentional or not, there is a lot of "eye candy" in this movie. I get it. Even Jai Courtney's Eric looks good in a dangerous/tough guy sort of way). Four is my favorite character in the book series and I am pleased to see that Theo James more than lives up to expectations.



The film was shot in Chicago so the filmmakers had to perform some digital magic to make it look and feel like a post-war, dystopian society. Costumes and sets all look spot on. It all works. Director Neil Burger injects pace, energy and a sense of foreboding and danger to the film. As soon as Tris leaves her faction, the action kicks off. There are lots of fight scenes between the initiates and among various characters, and yes, there is violence akin to what you would see in the "Hunger Games" series. There is also a budding romance - and while it is not as heavy a focus as it is in the books, it is equally satisfying.



As a big fan of the first 2 books ("Divergent" and "Insurgent"), I was very satisfied with the outcome. So many books out there get ripped to shreds by the time they make it to film, so I am glad to see that the screenwriters were very diligent in capturing the essence of this dystopian world and the characters that we love so much, and did not feel the need to change the story drastically. The plot follows that of the book and several key scenes are intact (albeit shorter and more compact) - whatever changes are made are relatively minor in comparison. The main characters are there, and there are more minor characters that may have been excised or will make an appearance in the next film. We hope this movie does well enough so that "Insurgent" is made, because that follow-up brings us more dimension to the story and fleshes out the role of these characters. For example, Marcus Eaton, Jeanine Matthews, Caleb, Peter and the Candor, Amity and Erudite factions, and Four's background are expanded more in the second book and new characters will be introduced.



My family and I came out of this film having a few discussions afterwards. Overall the reaction was very positive and we all enjoyed it immensely, so much so that we are all planning to see it again. I would highly recommend this movie not just to the book fans, but those who enjoy futuristic, dystopian films. Young and adult alike in my household enjoyed this film so it works for a broad range of audiences.

Get Divergent

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"Divergent" will inevitably be compared by many to that other YA book series, "Hunger Games." And while both books have strong young heroines, the books and movies are actually quite different. See the movie and judge for yourself. I went to see it with my family, but the theater had audiences of all ages - from older 40-50 something couples, to groups of high school-college friends, to middle schoolers with their friends or families. I would recommend this to the same audience that went to see "Hunger Games" - PG-13 and up.



For those not familiar with Veronica Roth's book, "Divergent" is the story of Beatrice (Tris) Prior, a young lady living in futuristic Chicago. Due to post-war effects, their society is divided into 5 factions that represent 5 virtues - Abnegation (selflessness/service to others), Candor (honesty), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (peace) and Erudite (knowledge/learning). Those who do not belong to a faction (basically, ostracized from society) are called "factionless." When they come of age, they attend a ceremony to select the faction they will join for the rest of their lives. Most choose the faction they are born in, while others may "defect." During the pre-ceremony aptitude test, Beatrice is told that her test results were "inconclusive", meaning she doesn't see to belong to a specific group. They call this "Divergent." Their society views "Divergents" as dangerous so Beatrice must keep this secret to protect her life. When she chooses her faction, she meets her new mentor and trainer Four and the brutal Eric and forms friendships with other new initiates Christina, Will and Al. The physical and mental training (think "boot camp") is intensive and challenging and Tris needs to find a way to survive. She eventually finds an ally in Four, who isn't quite what he seems.



The movie does a great job introducing the faction-based society to audiences, so you don't need to have read the book to enjoy or understand the plot. Having read the book, I would say I am very satisfied with the casting choices and the outcome of the film. I would consider this a faithful adaptation to the book - some scenes were excised due to time constraints and/or continuity/flow, but this is understandable if you take into account the differences between the book vs. film medium.



In terms of casting, I admit I was skeptical about Shailene Woodley (Tris) at first. Physically, she doesn't quite match up to book Tris (who is supposed to be small and waif-ish). But Shailene has the ability to take on this role of a vulnerable and conflicted young woman at the beginning of the film who grows in strength and confidence as the story goes on. Some would say that Theo James is much older than his book counterpart, but I can clearly see why he was chosen to play the complex Four. Theo plays Four with quiet strength and charisma - he is an imposing authority figure, but there is some vulnerability a well. He won me over from the first scene and he and Shailene have an undeniable chemistry. Kate Winslet (Jeanine Matthews), Jai Courtney (Eric) and Miles Teller (Peter) are also stand-outs. The remaining main supporting cast are Tony Goldwyn and Ashley Judd (Tris' parents), Ansel Elgort (Caleb - Tris' brother), Ray Stevenson (Marcus Eaton) and Tris' fellow initiates Zoe Kravitz (Christina), Ben Lloyd Hughes (Will) and Christian Madsen (Al). They capture the essence of their book counterparts very well and, while they are currently relative unknowns, I can see bright futures for the young cast. (And, yes, girls and boys, whether intentional or not, there is a lot of "eye candy" in this movie. I get it. Even Jai Courtney's Eric looks good in a dangerous/tough guy sort of way). Four is my favorite character in the book series and I am pleased to see that Theo James more than lives up to expectations.



The film was shot in Chicago so the filmmakers had to perform some digital magic to make it look and feel like a post-war, dystopian society. Costumes and sets all look spot on. It all works. Director Neil Burger injects pace, energy and a sense of foreboding and danger to the film. As soon as Tris leaves her faction, the action kicks off. There are lots of fight scenes between the initiates and among various characters, and yes, there is violence akin to what you would see in the "Hunger Games" series. There is also a budding romance - and while it is not as heavy a focus as it is in the books, it is equally satisfying.



As a big fan of the first 2 books ("Divergent" and "Insurgent"), I was very satisfied with the outcome. So many books out there get ripped to shreds by the time they make it to film, so I am glad to see that the screenwriters were very diligent in capturing the essence of this dystopian world and the characters that we love so much, and did not feel the need to change the story drastically. The plot follows that of the book and several key scenes are intact (albeit shorter and more compact) - whatever changes are made are relatively minor in comparison. The main characters are there, and there are more minor characters that may have been excised or will make an appearance in the next film. We hope this movie does well enough so that "Insurgent" is made, because that follow-up brings us more dimension to the story and fleshes out the role of these characters. For example, Marcus Eaton, Jeanine Matthews, Caleb, Peter and the Candor, Amity and Erudite factions, and Four's background are expanded more in the second book and new characters will be introduced.



My family and I came out of this film having a few discussions afterwards. Overall the reaction was very positive and we all enjoyed it immensely, so much so that we are all planning to see it again. I would highly recommend this movie not just to the book fans, but those who enjoy futuristic, dystopian films. Young and adult alike in my household enjoyed this film so it works for a broad range of audiences.

Get I Almost Prayed

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I've enjoyed all of Season 1 and Season 2 looks to be even better. Great characters and great actors too!

Get I Almost Prayed

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I've enjoyed all of Season 1 and Season 2 looks to be even better. Great characters and great actors too!

Get All Things Must Pass

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I've enjoyed all of Season 1 and Season 2 looks to be even better. Great characters and great actors too!

Get All Things Must Pass

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I've enjoyed all of Season 1 and Season 2 looks to be even better. Great characters and great actors too!

Get Draft Day

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What a great movie. People have been comparing it to money ball but personally I think it was way better. It's sincere and thoughtfully directed. Loved every moment.

Get Draft Day

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What a great movie. People have been comparing it to money ball but personally I think it was way better. It's sincere and thoughtfully directed. Loved every moment.

Get The Fault in Our Stars

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There’s a critic’s quote on the back of my copy of “The Fault in Our Stars,” by John Green, which I really felt captured the book’s essence and how it felt to read it. “This is a book that will break your heart – not by wearing it down, but by making it bigger and bigger until it bursts.” This is true. But, don’t be mistaken. This is an emotionally exhausting story. All a movie of a beloved book can hope to accomplish is to do justice to the book’s essence, and to give the viewer the same feeling they had when reading it as a novel. “The Fault in Our Stars” does this, and then some.



“Stars” follows Hazel (Shailene Woodley), who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of thirteen. A clinical trial gave her a few good years, but she has never been really anything but terminal. Her behavior leads her parents (Laura Dern and Sam Trammel) to believe she’s depressed, and force her to attend an insufferable cancer support group, where she meets who turns out to be the love of her life, Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort).



So first, I’ll calm the book readers down a bit. Woodley, who proved in 2011’s “The Descendants,” that she is a dynamic actress, and could helm YA-novel adaptations without being compared to Kristen Stewart, makes for a dynamic Hazel, giving a sublime and beautiful performance that could (and should) earn her some Academy attention this winter. Elgort is brooding, romantic and infectiously charismatic – a pitch perfect Augustus. And best yet, these two young actors have a chemistry that is electric, and should hit non-fans just as hard as it does those familiar with the source material.



Amy Jellicoe, I mean, Laura Dern is lovely as Hazel’s martyr mother. Dern played Amy Jellicoe in one of my favorite television series of all time, HBO’s cancelled-too-soon “Enlightened,” and she plays exactly the character from the book, and doesn’t change much. Sam Trammel (HBO’s “True Blood”) does nice work too. In the novel, Hazel’s father broke out crying almost every time she was in his presence, which Trammel doesn’t do. I guess that’s a good thing.



When the end-of-second-act plot twist hits, you will likely be in tears the entire third act of the movie, like I was. The book’s tone reminded me of Showtime’s series “The Big C.” It’s about a morbid subject – cancer, but treats its subject with lightness and finds a way to convey the humor in a terrible situation. “The Fault in Our Stars” is like the book in that way – it is at times grim and morbid in its detail about disease. But the characters manage to crack jokes about their awful predicament, which makes the third-act punch hurt a little less.



The film only makes a few slight changes in story from the book. Hazel’s friend Kaitlyn is written out completely, which actually works. Hazel is better portrayed as someone who was lonely and friendless until the great love of her life came around. Kaitlyn was an afterthought in the book anyway. The backstory of Augustus’s previous girlfriend Caroline is also written out, which is not such a good choice. But a book fan is always going to find things to nitpick.



In the end, Josh Boone made a superb adaptation of a beloved novel, which captured what it felt like to read the book. Not only that, but it captures the unmistakable feeling of being in love for the first time. The film itself is heartbreaking (you will cry…no way around it,) hopeful, wise, and acerbic in its wit. It will remind you not to live every day like it’s your last – but to just live.



Grade: A

Get The Fault in Our Stars

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There’s a critic’s quote on the back of my copy of “The Fault in Our Stars,” by John Green, which I really felt captured the book’s essence and how it felt to read it. “This is a book that will break your heart – not by wearing it down, but by making it bigger and bigger until it bursts.” This is true. But, don’t be mistaken. This is an emotionally exhausting story. All a movie of a beloved book can hope to accomplish is to do justice to the book’s essence, and to give the viewer the same feeling they had when reading it as a novel. “The Fault in Our Stars” does this, and then some.



“Stars” follows Hazel (Shailene Woodley), who was diagnosed with cancer at the age of thirteen. A clinical trial gave her a few good years, but she has never been really anything but terminal. Her behavior leads her parents (Laura Dern and Sam Trammel) to believe she’s depressed, and force her to attend an insufferable cancer support group, where she meets who turns out to be the love of her life, Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort).



So first, I’ll calm the book readers down a bit. Woodley, who proved in 2011’s “The Descendants,” that she is a dynamic actress, and could helm YA-novel adaptations without being compared to Kristen Stewart, makes for a dynamic Hazel, giving a sublime and beautiful performance that could (and should) earn her some Academy attention this winter. Elgort is brooding, romantic and infectiously charismatic – a pitch perfect Augustus. And best yet, these two young actors have a chemistry that is electric, and should hit non-fans just as hard as it does those familiar with the source material.



Amy Jellicoe, I mean, Laura Dern is lovely as Hazel’s martyr mother. Dern played Amy Jellicoe in one of my favorite television series of all time, HBO’s cancelled-too-soon “Enlightened,” and she plays exactly the character from the book, and doesn’t change much. Sam Trammel (HBO’s “True Blood”) does nice work too. In the novel, Hazel’s father broke out crying almost every time she was in his presence, which Trammel doesn’t do. I guess that’s a good thing.



When the end-of-second-act plot twist hits, you will likely be in tears the entire third act of the movie, like I was. The book’s tone reminded me of Showtime’s series “The Big C.” It’s about a morbid subject – cancer, but treats its subject with lightness and finds a way to convey the humor in a terrible situation. “The Fault in Our Stars” is like the book in that way – it is at times grim and morbid in its detail about disease. But the characters manage to crack jokes about their awful predicament, which makes the third-act punch hurt a little less.



The film only makes a few slight changes in story from the book. Hazel’s friend Kaitlyn is written out completely, which actually works. Hazel is better portrayed as someone who was lonely and friendless until the great love of her life came around. Kaitlyn was an afterthought in the book anyway. The backstory of Augustus’s previous girlfriend Caroline is also written out, which is not such a good choice. But a book fan is always going to find things to nitpick.



In the end, Josh Boone made a superb adaptation of a beloved novel, which captured what it felt like to read the book. Not only that, but it captures the unmistakable feeling of being in love for the first time. The film itself is heartbreaking (you will cry…no way around it,) hopeful, wise, and acerbic in its wit. It will remind you not to live every day like it’s your last – but to just live.



Grade: A

New Releases The Railway Man

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"The Railway Man" is the dramatization of the memoir of British Army Lieutenant Eric Lomax, captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore in 1942, forced to work on the Burma-Thailand "death" railroad along with thousands of his fellow POWs, and made to endure privation and torture at the hands of his brutal Japanese captors. Colin Firth stars as the elder Lomax, whom we meet in middle age, beginning a new marriage and still suffering from acute PTSD. His wife (well-played by Nicole Kidman) is determined to end his suffering. She worms the story of his wartime experiences out of Lomax's former commanding officer Findley, played in the present by Skellan Skarsgard and in the past by Sam Reid. Lomax eventually undertakes a journey to Thailand to confront his past. The lives of the older and younger Lomax are played out in parallel, in a story that is so emotion-charged as to be very tough to watch.



The location shooting in Scotland, and in Thailand is extremely good, as is the recreation of the wartime death railway. A superb performance by Jeremy Irvine as the heroic younger Lomax is matched by the nuanced acting of Hiroyuki Sanada and Tanro Ishida as the older and younger versions of the Japanese Kempetai officer who tortured Lomax. The alignment of the music score and the story is so flawless as to make you forget it's presence. The pacing of the storyline is excellent, as the scenes shift back and forth from Scotland to the Far East and from past to present. The ending is something you have to see. This movie had only a short theater engagement in the United States, competing against the usual summer blockbusters. It is worth tracking down on DVD and is highly recommended.

Get Taking This One to the Grave

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Hey Amazon where is episode 4??? Great show. Keeps you guessing.

New Releases Saving Private Ryan

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I was very impressed by ths film. I thought it would probably turn out to be rather cliched but it did seem to have a newer perspective on WW2. Some people say the characters are stereotypical - well, I served in the British Army Reserves for four years and my platoon had a fierce Scot, joking Londoner, smiling Irishman and philosphical Welshman in it, plus me as the token University Boy so I think you'll find that real-life Army units can be like that. No African Americans? Since the US Army was segregated until the sixties that is hardly surprising. Caricatured Germans? Germans running away? Well, some of them DID run away you know - they weren't all ruthlessly obedient supermen, and some were no doubt far more fed up with the war that the allies were. It would have been nice to see some British soldiers about but they were some way East taking out Caen at the time, so again, not a surprise. I wasn't sure about the film's comment on Montgomery ("overrated") and the British divisions though; Monty was a very good general indeed, at least as good as Patton or Eisenhower, and if he was so overcautious then why did the British lose so many men and tanks taking Caen? I think you'll find that about 80% plus of all the German armour in Normandy was at Caen, directed against the British - not the sort of battle that can be won in an afternoon I'm sure you'll agree.

Excellent film though - the most realistic combat scenes you will ever see on celluloid by far, and the plot is at least believable.

By the way, thanks very much to the US armed forces for doing a fantastic job as our allies in WW2, and other times. Long may Britain and the US continue to stand up for freedom.

Get Reckoning

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Episode 4 is over a day late, I'm going through withdrawal!

Get Taking This One to the Grave

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Hey Amazon where is episode 4??? Great show. Keeps you guessing.