Divergent

In the future, Chicago will be governed as a society divided by factions based on personality and virtues. Divergent follows Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley), a member of Abnegation (the "selfless" faction), as she attempts to join the Dauntless faction (bravery, security, etc.) and keep hidden the fact that she is divergent (can't really be placed into any of the five factions) from the Erudites (intelligence), specifically Kate Winslet.

I walked into Divergent expecting another teen action romance film trying to replace Harry Potter (which will never happen). I had lower than usual expectations for this film, but it surprised me. I understand why critics haven't been responding well to it, so I'm going to do my best to explain.

I really enjoyed the first hour of this movie. From Beatrice discovering her divergence, through her decisions, and her training in Dauntless, it was cool to see her character change and react to the stressful situations she's put into. It's not often a film does that without glossing over it in a montage. Woodley gives a much stronger performance than I anticipated, but the rest of the cast seems to fall flat thanks to some clunky dialogue and cheesy deliveries.

Dream and hallucination sequences were somewhat cool to watch. They weren't too trippy, and they played a part in the actual story. It's usually very difficult for me to sit through something similar to these mental tests and easy to lose interest, but the film managed to keep me engaged.

During most of the first hour, the film really ignores the overall conflict being divergence. Watching her transition into a Dauntless member was uplifting, but once the film regains focus on its subject matter, it turns right back into what I expected walking into the theater. A boring, predictable mess. As soon as the forced teen romance that you definitely saw coming hits the screen, everything just falls apart.

I may not be familiar with the source material, but it feels like someone was just bored writing the third act and just gave up. I enjoyed the first half of this film for the same reason I enjoyed Ender's Game. Showing a protagonist struggle is good, but watching bad stuff happen to them because their loved ones are selfless or stupid is not. The genocidal story arc was less intense than the training, making for an underwhelming third act.

The supporting cast is weak to say the least, because the studio probably spent their budget on Kate Winslet. After seeing the trailer, I now refer to the actor who played "Four" as "discount James Franco". Kate Winslet plays her part well, but just watching her, I just thought to myself "Anybody can do what she's doing right now." Zoe Kravitz delivered her lines as they were written, poorly, but it didn't take away from the friendship her character had with Woodley's.

Not since Sunshine have I been so disappointed in the second half of a film. It's almost a cruel trick pulled by the studio making us think we didn't have to watch the same basic story again. But no, we got our Phantom Menace ending with our forced Twilight romance in our Hunger Games dystopian society. So I'm going to break the tie. I was ready to give this movie a B+ half way through, and the second half feels like a C. If you're a fan of the books, you're going to see it anyway. If not, just wait for Mockingjay.

Rating: B-

Non-Stop

In the few years I've reviewed movies, I have never used the term "thrill-ride". But that's exactly what Non-Stop is. Liam Neeson may be a bit too seasoned for an action hero career, but it's almost as if he gets more powerful with every movie he makes. Jaume Collet-Serra directed this thriller after 2011's Unknown (another Liam Neeson thriller).

Bill Marks (Neeson) is a federal air marshal who investigates the passengers of a flight to London as a stranger sends messages to his phone, threatening to kill someone every 20 minutes. On paper, and even in the trailers, this looks and sounds like a ridiculously dumb movie. It's not incredibly ludicrous, but there are moments where you have to suspend your disbelief if you have any. Planning to kill someone on an airplane every 20 minutes can't go without meticulous planning and a few speed bumps. 

There were some things that the film did very well. Cinematography (minus a bit of shaky cam) was excellent, whether it was a blurring effect, or a long take. That and a rather large cast helps emphasize the impossibility of finding someone who's just using a cell phone to text. I can guarantee, you will have no idea who is behind it all throughout the entire movie.

Julianne Moore, who appears to be in everything nowadays, plays Jen Summers, who quickly gains the trust of Marks as he searches for the terrorist. It's no different than anything she usually does. She's likable in that outgoing older woman kind of way. Corey Stoll plays a disgruntled, less than politically correct passenger who becomes more and more frustrated with the lack of information as the flight goes on. Stoll, if you don't know him from House of Cards, gives a strong performance as well as the rest of the cast.

Liam Neeson seemed to half-ass his way through this movie. I don't know if he wants to be put into these roles, or if he keeps taking them because they're being offered. He's making a name for himself as an action hero, so he may as well look like he wants to be there. We don't need another Bruce Willis.

Despite logical fallacies here and there, the film has a gripping, fast-paced story line that is clearly laid out for the audience. There's never a dull moment on a plane to London. If there's one thing in this movie I can't deal with, it's that Marks is an air marshal. Air marshals should not be air marshals if they hate flying.

Character development isn't a strong suit of Collet-Serra, as Neeson's characters in both Non-Stop and Unknown tend to be focused on blatantly throwing a few key details of their lives on screen and hoping the audience cares. I don't really care if he's an alcoholic, I just want to see him catch a bad guy. 

Non-Stop provides the audience with a mystery they can try to solve while enjoying the film itself. It has its action, an easily followed plot, and a few laughs along the way. If you enjoy planes, Liam Neeson, and some creative texting animations, and you're willing to ignore a few preposterous events, then you will enjoy Non-Stop.

Rating: B