DIVERGENT (2014) – My rating 8/10

The trailers on Divergent were a little fuzzy, as I didn’t really get what the movie was all about.  Now that I’ve seen it, I have to do a little comparison to The Hunger Games.  Like the Hunger Games, the world was categorized into sections.  In Divergent, there is 1 choice from the existing 5 categories one can choose to spend their life perusing.  There’s no going back once the choice is made.  Like Hunger Games, the government totally rules every aspect of your life.

The one thing you don’t want to be is a Divergent.  Being a Divergent is a death sentence since a Divergent cannot be controlled.  The movie starts out with a seemingly normal family.  Ashley Judd plays Natalie, the mother.  Tony Goldwyn of TVs Scandal plays Andrew, the father.  Their son and daughter (Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley) plays Caleb and Tris, respectively.  The 2 children have come of age to be tested and classified in one of the 5 categories.  The adventure starts when the children pick their respective category and begin their life training.  The movie focuses mainly on Tris who is the Divergent.   Kate Winslet plays one of the villains and does quite a convincing job.  While Divergent doesn’t quite reach the heights of The Hunger Games, it is close enough to rake in mega bucks and earn a place on the box office hall of fame.  I wasn’t jumping up and down but I was entertained.  All in all, not bad.

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE (2013) – My rating: 10/10

I had no idea what the sequel to Hunger Games was going to be like.  I absolutely loved it.  The whole gang from the first Hunger Games returned to make this thrilling film.  I have so much to say but I don’t want to spoil the movie.  What I can say is Lian Hemsworth, who plays Dale, is even more gorgeous than before, but then what should we expect being the younger brother of Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor.  I can also tell you that Woody Harrelson deserves an oscar for his roll as Haymitch Abernathy.  The cast was fantastic, the story was fantastic and the special effects were fantastic.  And of course, Jennifer Lawrence was equally fantastic as Katniss Everdeen, the ultimate warrior.

While I engrossed myself in this fantastic movie, I became so angry that I wanted to jump into the screen and do bodily harm to Donald Sutherland who always plays an excellent villain.  Donald’s role as President Snow was so real it caused me to invoke emotions like hate, anger and revenge.  This sequel reminded me how wicked man can be.  It’s all set up to introduce us to the 3rd and final film in this trilogy.  Everyone should see The Hunger Games because it’s a work of art that will entertain your socks off.