Since my last post, a lot has happened. San Antonio ended. Houston started... and finished. It was rad. Loved every second of it.... well not EVERY second... but almost every day ;).
Team #blinnwin sophomores finished up their spring season, thus their juco career. I am extremely proud of them. In 2014, the team was either champion or reserve at every contest. Awesome job, y'all!
I figured after Houston was over, I would have a life. hahaha, yeah no. Senior sessions, weddings, bridals, and engagements sessions are stacking up quite nicely. It looks like April will have a high frame rate for sure :) That makes me a happy photog...
Now, let's get to more important topics... Like a movie review. If you follow me on twitter, or facebook, or anything really, then you know that I LOVE the Divergent book series. Like LOVE. I mean, I have a "be brave" tattoo for crying out loud. So, with that said, I have been very excited for the release of the Divergent movie. But, since it happened around the same time as the steer show at Houston, I had to wait until after we were done with the show to see it. Since leaving the grounds Sunday night, I've seen the movie three times. Judge me. But, with that many views, you know my review is going to be pretty spot on. So here we go.
Divergent :: Overall rating 3.0 gigs out of 4
First and foremost, I completely understand that most every book-turned-movie films are not going to be 100% exact. With that said, this movie strays from the book... a lot. The first time I watched the movie, I hated it. I think this is because I knew what should have been happening next, and was anticipating it. However, with my second watch, I let those expectations go and actually just plain enjoyed the movie. Most of the parts that did stray from the book were done so well... total improvements, really. Yes, there were parts that I wish would have gone differently, but there were also some parts that went above and beyond what I envisioned while reading. Prime example would be the warrior games. I LOVED this part of the movie. Amazing. Loved the changes - and LOVED that the zip-line was added here. On that note - the zip-line scene was hands down my favorite. If you have read all three books, you should know why this scene made me cry a little. Absolutely amazing.
I thought the general vision or artistry or whatever of the film was super BA. The graphics for the city and the different factions - especially the dauntless compound - all were super on point. Oh, and the music selection for the film... SPOT ON!
The movie was casted awesomely. However, I wish more of the characters in the book were present in the movie. But, I do understand that for time purposes, some had to be left out. I also wish the directors would have paid more attention to detail in some scenes... Like right after Tris gets her tattoo and is working late hours in the training room, you see her checking the board.... without a tattoo. Or there was the occasion when someone would have bruised knuckles one minute, then have clean hands the next, then have bruised knuckles again a second later. Or the fact that her tattoo was half coming off after her first sim during stage 2. I'm a freak for noticing things like this, but they all kind of jumped out at me the first time I watched it.
Now, with both my positives and negatives stated, here is my final word - I LOVED the movie (changes included) up until Tris and Tobias get caught during the attack simulation. After that, I think the movie goes to heck. Why would you change how Tris's mom finds her? Or how Tris's mom dies, for that matter? (I realize she technically dies the same way... but come on...) Or how the attack simulation is being controlled? OR THE FACT THAT TRIS SAYS I LOVE YOU BEFORE TOBIAS. All big no-no's for me.
However, I DID drag my butt to the theater three times already to watch Divergent, so obviously I really liked it. The reason it gets a 3.0 for me is due to some of the lower-budget looking scenes (I can see the blur around their heads... bad green screen editing), and for the last 15 minutes of the movie. Past that, I really loved it.
If you haven't read the book, you'll like the movie. If you have read the book... I think you'll still like it a whole bunch.
I mean, it's a crap-ton better than all those stupid Twilight movies.
I mean, Theo James.... need I say more?
Ha! I came across this blog because my forthcoming novel is entitled The Coach's Wife. Looking forward to seeing what you have been up to here. :)
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