Divergent (2014)

Synopsis
Tris (Shailene Woodley) lives in a society that is divided up into 5 factions; Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Erudite, and Dauntless. Each year, when they reach a certain age, the children take a test to determine what faction they belong to and then they choose a faction to stay in for the rest of their lives. When Tris takes the test and finds out she doesn't fit into one faction (Divergent), she has to decide what she's going to do to keep herself safe because being Divergent is extremely dangerous. This movie is based on the book of the same name.

My Verdict
I read the first 2 books last year so I was really excited to watch this movie. The only problem I had was that because I read the 2 books back to back, they sort of bled together in my head. So, I had to remind myself of what happened in the first and second book so I wouldn't get disappointed if I didn't see something.
Overall I really enjoyed the movie. Of course there were parts of the book that didn't happen in the movie and I've learned to except that with book adaptations. Also these changes didn't affect the plot in a major way. The one thing that I was really excited about seeing were the simulations and I thought they did an amazing job portraying them.
I'm giving this movie an 8/10. I didn't think it was epicly amazing but it was a good movie. Since I read the book before seeing the movie I was really looking to see if they captured the book and for the most part they did. I'll talk about what didn't happened that upset me in the spoiler section below.

I know a lot of people were comparing this movie to the Hunger Games, but I will not because I think they are 2 completely different movies with different themes. All I will say is that, if I had to choose, I would rather live in a Divergent world than a Hunger Games world. Also, I relate more to Tris. We live in a world where people are always trying to put people into a specific box and I don't fit into just one box. I am Divergent.

Spoilers
First off, when Al died in the book I was sad, but when he died in the movie I didn't feel that way. In the movie they kind of made him seem like the jerk that tried to kill Tris.
Second Tris was really upset when she killed Will and had a bit of a hard time doing it. The people who didn't read the book won't really understand why it was so hard for her. It wasn't just because they were friends but Christina liked Will and they were together (if I'm remembering correctly). They didn't show that in the movie at all.
They also didn't show them getting their revenge on the jerk that is Peter. He got stabbed in the eye during initiate training. I waiting for that and it didn't happen.
To end on a good note, I didn't like when they showed her zip lining and the capture the flag scene with them climbing the ferris wheel.

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Switched at Birth - You Will Not Escape

The only thing I could say while watching this episode was "oh my gosh" and "what is happening?!" 
So, Kathryn and Regina go to New York for this event Kathryn's publisher is having and things get crazy! We find out that Kathryn had a wild past because one of her past lovers shows up and tries to spend some time with her. In order to get him to leave her alone she pretends that she and Regina are lesbians and they even share a kiss. (What is happening?!) I seriously thought it was someone else that was kissing Kathryn, but no, it was Regina. I think the most shocking thing about it all was that John wasn't bothered by any of it. Even the rumors and the twitter talk; he just saw it as a funny joke. I did not see that coming at all.

Bay is freaking out because she's finally seeing a doctor to see if she has an aneurysm or not. While waiting to get her results, at senior ditch day, the girl who she thought was Mandy shows up and tells Bay that she dumped her boyfriend because he didn't love her like Emmett loved Mandy. That makes Bay jealous and she breaks things off with Emmett. These 2 are always breaking up and making up. On top of that, on the way to get her test results Bay gets in a huge argument with Daphne and Daphne shoves her to the ground! (Oh my gosh!) Luckily her test showed no signs of an aneurysm and I'm happy about that. I don't know what I would've done if they put Bay's life in danger and gave her an aneurysm. Now she and Emmett are back together and she's decided to follow him to Cali for school! I don't know how I feel about that. I'm just mad that she only applied to one school. There were so many other schools she could go to and get into but (it seems like) she only applied to Pratt.

Lastly, let's talk about Daphne's shenanigans. I have no words for this girl. She's pissed at Regina for wanting to take Angelo's life insurance money and she pissed because Nacho played her, so she gets drunk and kisses Travis! (What is happening?!) Anyone who tries can't help her and everyone else is blinded by their own problems and life stuff to realize that she needs serious help. That fight she had with Regina at the end had me like "whoa!" I really didn't think it was going to come to that. I don't know what's going to happen to her. I hope it's not too bad but it seems like that's the only way everyone will see that she needs serious help.

Overall, I thought this was a good episode. I thought it was going to be more intense but it was just crazy. I'm just waiting for people to finally get Daphne the help she needs and it looks like that's going to happen next week. 

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Dawn of the Planet of the Ape (2014)

Synopsis
Caesar (Andy Serkis) and the apes are living peacefully believing that there are no more humans on Earth. Soon they encounter a group of humans and they both have to decide whether they can live knowing they both exist or not.

My Verdict
I was very pleased with this movie. This is what I expected the sequal to be like. I have to be honest and say that it was a little predictable, but not so much that I saw everything coming because I didn't. Also the CGI was so good! I mean, those weren't real apes and I had to keep reminding myself that. The only thing that made me mad was the 3D. It was pointless! I spent extra money for 3D and it wasn't even that great. There were moments when 3D would've been perfect and amazing but they didn't use it. So if you're thinking about seeing it in 3D, don't. Also, I stayed til the credits were over because I always think there's going to be something extra now, and there was nothing. There were creepy ape sounds but that was it. They didn't really make you feel like there was another movie coming out next either. I mean, it just ended. There was nothing that made you feel like "uh oh [something crazy] happened and now we have to see what happens next." I guess what I'm trying to say is that there was no cliffhanger and now I don't know if there's going to be a third movie or not.
Now on to the deeper messages of the movie. I heard a lot of people talking about how this movie is anti-gun and I totally saw that. If there were no guns than half of the conflict wouldn't have happened. Actually, there would be no conflict if there were no guns. I think the main message of Rise and Dawn is that, basically, humans ruin everything. Humans were the ones that put the apes in the facility, tested them, and ended up creating a virus that killed more than half the planet. Humans were the ones that took the apes from their natural habitat to do all this testing on them. Humans were the firsts ones to get violent. All the apes wanted to do was live separately in peace. So, the humans ruined everything and brought all this trouble among themselves.
I'm giving this movie a 8.5/10.

Spoilers
I just want to freak out a little because Koba almost killed Caesar! Who cried when that happened and who was shocked when Caesar was actually alive? *raises hand*
Also, I knew that Blue Eyes would end up finding Malcolm and let him go with the medicine for Caesar. That whole part and the part when Caesar came back to fight Koba was predictable and very reminiscent of the Lion King.
One question I have: is there really an army coming? Dreyfus said that they got a hold of people outside of their town and an army was coming, but I got the feeling he was just saying that to scare Malcolm. I guess we'll in the next movie, if there is one.

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Switched at Birth - It Isn't What You Think

Things seem to be getting back to normal for some people, I think.
Daphne seemed fine for about 30 seconds but then she went back to spiraling. She's got a new friend and his name is Nacho! They decided to vandalize the work site that Regina is working on with Wes. I really feel that Daphne is going to end up in jail (again) if she doesn't stop. I completely forgot that she was still on probation which makes everything worse. I know that there are things that she's not supposed to be doing while on probation and she's probably doing most of them. The icing on the cake is that she and Nacho are a couple now, wreaking havoc on the city, and all because she found Regina is working with Chip Coto. Let's all hope that someone finds out about Daphne's antics and gets her some help.

Bay is going through some issues herself. She finds out Tank and Toby are roommates and she's not happy about it. It's just a really awkward and random situation. On top of that she went to dinner with Tank and his dad to give Tank some moral support when he told his dad that he depledged. His dad was not happy about that. I felt so bad for Tank. All his dad cared about was him being in this fraternity and know it seems like his dad has disowned him for depledging.
On top of that the one person that Bay told about the aneurysm situation was not Emmett. It was Tank. I think the only good thing to come out of it is that she's going see a doctor, but I don't think Emmett will be happy if he finds out Tank knew before him.

Toby's relationship with Lilly has gotten pretty interesting. The slept together, which is just wow. He also had to plead with her so Sharee could take a makeup test so she won't fail Lilly's class. It's crazy. I have no idea what will come of Toby and Lilly. It seems like they will get together but they fight all the time. So who knows? 

Overall this was a good episode. From the looks of the promo, next week is going to be crazy. They really aren't wasting any time picking up the craziness. I mean, Kathryn kisses a woman and Daphne kisses Travis! I seriously have no words for what I saw. I'm just going to sit here and wait for the sneak peeks so I can get some clues as to what's going to happen.

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Prisoners (2013)

Synopsis
Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) and his family are spending Thanksgiving with their friends Franklin and Nancy Birch (Terrence Howard & Viola Davis) when their daughters suddenly go missing. Detective Loki is put on the case and tries to do what he can to brings the girls home, but when Keller thinks Loki isn't doing enough, he takes matters into his own hands.

My Verdict
Overall I liked this movie but there were things that I didn't like. It started it off creepy, so it did a good job at setting the tone of the movie. I'm not going to lie, this was a slow movie and it was pretty long. It was about 2 and a half hours and at the hour and a half point I already felt like it was going on for forever. At that point I needed it to get a little more interesting. I only kept watching because I wanted to know what happened to the girls. The ending wasn't predictable to me and that's a good thing. I really didn't see it coming at all. I figured it out right when the main character did which is good because if it was predictable I would've been pissed. I just couldn't handle the information as it was happening.
Now, this movie is a thriller and is supposed to be suspenseful but I wasn't on the edge of my seat until the last 40 minutes. Also, it wasn't as thrilling as I expected. So, I'm giving this movie a 7/10.

Spoilers
I just want to talk about this ending for a minute. The fact that the old lady did it really threw me! I really didn't see it coming. I actually thought that maybe Keller did it. I mean the little girl said that he was there when she woke up and escaped and he was getting drunk all the time. I thought that had just forgotten that he'd taken them because he was drunk. He was always talking about being prepared for the worst, too. This could've been his way of preparing the girls. I know it crazy, but that's what I thought.
If Keller didn't get found I would've been pissed. He would've have always been seen as this dude who kidnapped and tortured an innocent man and then went on the run because he was guilty. I'm happy that he gets to tell his side if the story.
The big thing that still bothers me is that we never found out why the old lady kidnapped all those children. Also, how is she just going to get herself killed in the end?! She had the audacity to take all those kids and when she got caught she just let them kill her! I mean, she would've died in jail but she didn't stay around long enough to give an explanation. That just makes me so mad.

What you think of this movie?

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Switched at Birth - Girl With Death Mask (She Plays Alone)

It's weeks after Angelo's death and everyone is trying to move on but it's not as easy as it sounds. Bay receives a letter from Angelo's mom asking her to tell Angelo's cousin in Chicago about his passing. In order to get the girls out of the house, John sees this as the perfect opportunity, so he takes them to Chicago so Bay can see her cousin and so Daphne can visit Northwestern. 

Bay's visit didn't go as expected. See, her cousin was a bit insensitive. He didn't seem upset when he heard the news about Angelo. He also almost scammed John out of $700! The trip only took a turn when Bay told him about Angelo's aneurysm and we found out that Angelo had a sister that died at 18 from an aneurysm! So this runs in the family which means that Bay may get an aneurysm at some point! That is crazy and I'm pretty sure Bay is going to freak out about the whole thing. 
Daphne's visit didn't go any better than Bay's. John made Daphne go off with the tour guide to see the pre-med buildings and she was not happy about it. All she wanted to do was cause trouble and she ended up doing coke, throwing a bench off the window, and almost killing people! This girl is spiraling out of control. I really think that she may need therapy because she is not coping well. And she's still blaming Regina for it all which is hurting their relationship. She really needs some serious help.

Angelo's daughter and her adopted father came to visit Regina but she was in no way prepared for it so Kathryn spent some time with them instead. This whole visit was kind of a disaster because Kathryn invited Renzo over as kind of a blind date thing. Renzo was too nervous to act like his normal self, tried to cook and made a complete mess of things. The only thing good about it was that Bay got to see her baby sister and, you know, Renzo came back. 

Toby had his first DJing gig and there was drama there too. Emmet was invited and it just so happened that Tank was there drinking his sorrows away. Mary Beth tried to trick Tank into thinking that Emmett was Travis but Tank soon found out the truth and things didn't go well. Tank tried to fight Emmett but he was too drunk to do anything. Toby ended up taking Tank to his place for the night and he asked Tank to be his roommate. I have no idea how this is going to work out. I'm guessing the writer really liked Tank and wanted him to stay with the cast and this was the only way that could happen. 
We were introduced to a new character, Lilly. She's Toby's new upstairs neighbor and a new teacher at Carlton. I can only wonder if this will be a new love interest for him. 

This episode was just drama, drama, and more drama. We are entering the downfall of Angelo's death and everyone is grieving differently. It's interesting that Daphne is the one that's spiraling out of control. That is something that I never expected. It's only going to get worse for her because it looks like Nacho is coming back and she gets in a relationship with him. Then they go wreak havoc and it's just not good. Come to think of it, Daphne has gotten into some pretty bad trouble before. Let's hope she gets help before things go bad and she ends up in juvie again or worse, jail. 

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Extant

Extant is about Molly Woods (Halle Berry), an astronaut who spent 13 months alone in space and has finally returned home to her family. Two main things we learn is one, her son is a robot made by her husband, John (Goran Visnjic). Their son is the prototype of this Humanichs program that John is the head of. The other thing is that Molly is pregnant. We really don't know how this happened because she was in space for over a year and she was supposed to be alone. These are the main things we know or find out going in to the first episode.
After seeing the first 2 episodes, I am very intrigued. This is very much a Sci-Fi thriller. It has a creepy kid, paranoid people running around, people keeping secrets and many questions that I'm hoping get answered. There were many things seen in the 2 episodes that brought about a lot of questions. I mean for one Molly is pregnant and it's basically impossible, so how did happen and what is she pregnant with? Also the people she works for are very shady. They know things and they speak too vaguely for me. Hopefully as the season goes on we start to get some answers.
I will continue to watch this show and I recommend it especially if you like Sci-Fi. This show is interesting and it's so cool seeing all the new technology, but not all the technology has advanced. They can make it so the animals in a museum looks and act real but for some reason the ultrasound looks like the ones we use today. So, I will still watch and be amazed by the tech and making up my own theories. Check it out and do it fast. There are only 2 episodes and it looks like it's going to get even more crazy next week, so catch up. If you've seen it , what are your thoughts?

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