Popular books made into movies

I write a LOT of movie reviews on my other blog, but when it pertains to writing and books, I like to share them here on this author blog!  If you're having Hunger Games or Twilight withdrawals, you may want to check out the Divergent book series or movie...

Movie Title:   Divergent

Grade:   B

In a Nutshell:   

This planned trilogy is starting off with mixed reviews, despite its popular book by Veronica Roth.  The Hunger Games and Twilight fans will enjoy another heroine who can kick butt and fight the system while finding time for romance.  Shailene Woodley has been successful in supporting roles, but this is the first time her performance carries an entire film.

I think the ideas are interesting and Director Neil Burger creates a dystopian setting that has holes, yet is still intriguing.

Uplifting theme:   Tris declares “Don’t try to define me.”  The movie is about independent will and finding ourselves.  Jeanine Mathews (Kate Winslet) explains “The system removes the threat of anyone practicing their independent will.  Divergence threatens that system.  It won’t be safe until they’re removed.”  Teens often question where they belong, as if there is only one place that they have to find to be “home.”  This film takes a stab at showing we are multi-dimensional creatures that need to dance on many floors in order to find balance.

Things I liked:

• I’d love to play Capture the Flag with that glow-in-the-dark flag.  How about playing PaintBall with those guns that shoot darts that make you feel like you’ve been really shot?
• This movie is full of dangerous stunts that make you want to stand in line to try.  For example, I love that gigantic zip-line that goes through the city.  Do you think Universal Studios will build one if this movie does well enough?  I won’t be jumping onto moving trains any time soon though.
• I thought it was interesting to watch the fears some of the characters had.  Four explains that most people have 10-15 really bad fears.  When Tris can’t run away and her feet move slowly in mud during her “fear evasion” sequence, it reminded me that I had that same recurring dream when I was a little girl.  It’s a terrible feeling to not be able to move forward, whether trying to escape danger or making progress on a goal.
• I thought it was an interesting concept that when people in the movie were injected with a certain serum that their thoughts could be controlled.  Isn’t that called alcohol? 
• I love Shailene’s thick, beautiful hair.
• Cool double infinity mirrors and other special effects.
• Who doesn’t love Ashey Judd?
• I’d like a blue jacket with the stylish neckline that Jeanine Mathews wears.

Things I didn’t like:

• The ending was disappointingly predictable, but I haven’t read the book, so I’m hoping there are more interesting things to come.
• Many of the characters were one-dimensional.
• Those in the Dauntless faction run during most of the movie, yet they’re never out of breath.
• Tris tells Four “I don’t want to go too fast.”  The very next thing you see is her in bed near him.  Huh?

Interesting lines:

• “My mother says there’s an art to losing yourself.” – Tris
• Tris sees the fear in Four’s eyes as they climb up and states “You’re afraid of heights.”  He reveals “Everyone is afraid of something.”
• “Are you even human?” – Four says to Tris as he watches her climb a tower with ease.
• “This isn’t real.”  What an empowering sentence you can say to yourself when you have fear.  Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do.  One of my favorite quotes by Franklin D. Roosevelt is “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” Later, Tris says “Don’t think.  Just jump.”  I’m wondering if we’ll see that tagline on basketball shoes soon?
• “I think human nature is the enemy.”  Jeanine Matthews   What a terrible thought.  Human nature is what makes us all fantastically flawed, interesting, and wonderful.
• “There is a certain beauty in the resistance, but it’s a beauty we can’t afford.” – Jeanine Matthews
• In Divergent , kids who leave the nest aren’t allowed to go back.  In this troubled economy, we’re seeing an increase in “Boomerang Kids” as college graduates return home while trying to pay back student loans.  How wonderful that families can pull together and embrace returning kids who return home to get support.  On another level, it’s a great thing that we CAN reinvent ourselves and not be pigeon-holed into one thing in our lives.
• “We train soldiers, not rebels.” – Eric
• “Trust the test; it will tell you where you belong.” – Tori  

Tips for parents:  The language is clean, but there are a lot of dangerous stunts you may need to remind your kids NOT to try.  An interesting dinner conversation with your family might be to ask everyone which faction they would want to join if they had to choose.  Check out this fun Infogram MTV made and check out the Harry Potter comparisons.

In case you need to catch up on reading the series...

Hunger Games book fans can now get Catching Fire on DVD

                                                by Trina Boice
                                             www.TrinaBoice.com

If you’re a Hunger Games fan, then you’ve probably already seen this, but if you haven’t, it’s now in stores on DVD for rental or purchase!

Movie Title:  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Grade: A

In a Nutshell:  This movie franchise has all the odds ever in its favor.  The gritty books are best-sellers and the intense films don’t disappoint.  The special effects are great and you really find yourself enveloped in the dark world of these compelling characters.  The games feel familiar from the first movie, but they take on some new twists that engage your sensibilities and heart.  As Haymitch Abernathy states “Last year was child’s play; this year you’re dealing with all experienced killers.” The fans and the smart storyline mature with this second movie in the successful trilogy.

President Snow announces “On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors.”  And then it begins.

Uplifting theme: 

• I liked the speech Peeta gave in District 11: “Our lives aren’t measured in years, but in the lives we touch and touch us around us.”
• “We don’t need to destroy her – just her image.  Sew fear.  It doesn’t work as long as they have hope” counsels Plutarch Heavensbee.  Hope is a very powerful thing.  When you’ve lost everything, hope is everything.  Primrose tells her sister that she notices something different about her world now.  Katniss asks “What can you see?”  Her answer:  “Hope.”  Katniss becomes the mockingjay herself, the image of a new hope to her people.
• The grim violence is physical AND emotional, deepening the layers of imprisonment and drama. 
• There is a weighty theme of cultural and personal revolution that could begin an interesting dinner table conversation in your home.
• Simply surviving is not the end-game, but creating a meaningful life that blesses those around you is.  Primrose Everdeen says to her sister “You saved my life.  You gave me a chance.”  Katniss confirms “Yes, to live.” Primrose corrects “No, to do something.”

Things I liked:

• I loved the FANTASTIC wedding dress-turned mocking jay gown visual effects!
• The cast is terrific: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, and Woody Harrelson.  Philip Seymour Hoffman was a national treasure and will be missed.
• The “lethal lovers” Katniss and Peeta twist their lives together in a new way that may become a new prison of sorts, even if they’re able to pull it off.

Things I didn’t like:

• I thought the yucky blisters caused by the fog were pretty gross.  I definitely felt relief when they were able to wash away the pain in the water
• The film is almost 2 ½ hours long, but ends abruptly.  Dang it!  Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long to watch the rest of the story.  The third movie installment in the trilogy is expected to release on the big screen November 21, 2014.   Like the Harry Potter franchise, the final part of the story is going to be split into two movies: Mockingjay 1 and 2.  The very last movie will hit theaters November 10, 2015.
• Love triangles are a bit tired.

Interesting lines:

• “That’s how the friend thing works…you have to tell each other deep stuff.”
• President Snow: While you and Peeta are on tour, you need to smile, you need to be grateful, but above all, you need to madly end it all in love. You think you can manage that?
• Katniss Everdeen: Yes.
• President Snow: "Yes" what?
• Katniss Everdeen: I'll convince them.
• President Snow: No. Convince me.
• “Don’t look so cute.  We’ll kill you anyways.”  - Johanna Mason
• “Say good-bye and forget them.  I do my best, thinking of them one by one, releasing them like birds from the protective cages inside me, locking the doors against their return.”  - Katniss Everdeen
• “No wonder I won the Games.  No decent person ever does.” – Katniss Everdeen

Things to look for:

• You only seem them for a few seconds, but I adore Effie’s super cute gloves at the party on the last night of their tour.
• Effie’s outfits in this movie are fantastic.  Look at the details on her butterfly outfit.
• Katniss hangs the model of Seneca Crane in an act of defiance during the judging. 
• Did you know a spile, the tool Katniss uses to get water out of a tree, really works?  It’s used to get sap out of sugar maple trees to produce maple syrup.
You can learn more about Tap My Tree Maple Spile and Hook
• Did you know that Effie’s last name is Trinket?  So appropriate, don’t you think?  I love that her character deepens in this installment in the story.

Tips for parents:

There is some violence (mostly bloodless) and a cold-faced attitude of murder that should begin an honest discussion of humanity in your family. There is some profanity, but the Capitol itself bleeps out two F-bombs.

If you missed the first one and need to catch up, here are some links to the books and movies: