Movie Review - "Mission: Impossible" 05/22/1996

As "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol" came out in December 2011, I have decided to watch the MI movies before watching Ghost Protocol [and watch the more recent Rogue Nation]. This is a review for "Mission: Impossible", released on May 22, 1996.


Trailer:

Plotline:
Tom Cruise plays Agent Ethan Hunt. He is a spy on a team with a few other spies. Their mission, should their leader chose to accept it, is to catch a man who is stealing the NOC list (the list that has the real name and the undercover name of the agents). Plot twist *SPOILERS*: The mission that their team is on is actually an operation to figure out who the mole is in the agency. Ethan, survivor of the original mission, now has to find out who the mole is and how to catch him/her, all while being a disavowed agent. So now his mission is impossible and it is the only way to go to prove that he is not the mole.




Character Development / Relationships:
This doesn't seem to be much of a relationship/character developing movie since it is an action-packed quick-sequence movie. There is a relationship question about Ethan and one of the supposed dead women from his team, but they do not seem to go any further than work together. Ethan probably doesn't go for the lady because she was the wife of the team's leader, though *SPOILERS* someone does say that she thought she could fool him with only her looks. [Seriously, why do we have to try to use the female to trick the main character?!]




Music:
The music for this movie is well known, at least for the Mission Impossible theme. Aside that, I didn't really notice other music. Very great theme!




Criteria:
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.


Honestly, this movie could have used more but for the action-packed sequences, it wasn't that bad. I suggest it but I personally don't think that this is high on the "to watch again" list. 4/5

Friday, December 16, 2011 Movies to Watch and Review

Corman's World's: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel
Cook County
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
Carnage
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

Fun Writing Days on Twitter

Just wanted to jot down a quick list of days that can make writing fun (mainly on Twitter), that I know of.
First, definitions:
1. WIP is Work In Progress
2. MC is Main Character
3. MS is Manuscript




Day: Whenever a writer is writing and feels like sharing

#AmWriting
Theme: None - whatever you want to post from your WIP

This is a "whenever and whatever" post for writers, not run by any specific person. If you want to post something and it doesn't go along with any daily themes or hashtags, just post it and say #AmWriting ! :-D



#AmEditing
Theme: None - whatever you want to post from/regarding your WIP

Like #AmWriting , this is a "whenever and whatever" post for writers/editors, not run by any specific person. If you want to post something while editing and it doesn't go along with any daily themes or hashtags, just post it and say #AmEditing ! :-)



#SixWordStory / #6Words
Theme: Posted Prompt.

Run by Kelsye Nelson @Kelsye , this is a Twitter game to prompt writings. For example, a prompt on Feb. 05, 2016 says "In SIX WORDS or fewer, write a story about the stranger you met in the coffee shop.". Follow Kelsye for these prompts. Some of them are interesting. ;-)




Day: Sunday

#SundaySample
Theme: Posted Prompt.

This is a WIP sharing hashtag run by Colin Rowe @lowericon . It happens every Sunday and Colin posts the theme in the morning, USA Mountain Time.




Day: Monday

#Meta4Mon
Theme: Metaphor/Simile

This is a Monday posting hashtag run by Cori Lynn Arnold @corilynarnold . The "theme" is metaphors and similes.



#Ministory Monday
Theme: Story in 5 tweets or less; Posted prompt

Run by Elise Edmonds @WriterEdmonds . If you like to write and want to come up with a miniature story, try this.
"Using the given prompt, write a complete story in 5 tweets or less."




Day: Tuesday

#TwitterTuesday
Theme: Posted

Run by Quill @QuillWriters , this is a theme posted writer game (hashtag game).
"Every Tue, New theme every week. 3PM GMT and goes on into the evenings. Normally tails off around 8pm gmt but has been known to go on til midnight. We use the tags #quill plus whatever our theme is. Example: #Quill and #FantasyTropes for the theme of FantasyTropes."



#2BitTues
Theme: Optional and Posted

This is a Tuesday posting hashtag run by Angela D'Onofrio @AngDonofrio . The theme is optional and posted on a day before Tuesday. Even if you don't something to go with the theme, any kind of WIP post is welcomed!




Day: Wednesday

#1LineWed
Theme: Posted

This is a Wednesday posting hashtag run by Kiss of Death @RWAKissofDeath . The theme is posted before Wednesday.
"Writers at all stages of their careers coming together to share their writing by posting lines from a Work in Progress. #1lineWed is about writing, not advertising. Please No Buy Links. Instead we'd love you to share your website. Remember, @1lineWed is about fun. Retweet others as you'd like to be retweeted. Feel free to block spammers."



#WIPWed
Theme: Whatever is from your WIP

This is a Wednesday posting hashtag, not run by anyone in particular. Just post something from your Work In Progress. ;-)




Day: Thursday

#ThrustyThursday
Theme: Romance/Erotica

This is a Thursday posting hashtag run by Brittany Pettegrow @scribalreverie . There is no theme aside posting romance/erotica clips from WIPs.



#3WordThurs
Theme: Posted Prompt.

This is a Thursday posting hashtag run by Brittany Pettegrow @scribalreverie . She throws three words up in the prompt and the challenge is to "Use all three words in a sentence or conversation. Must at least make some sort of sense. We are writers, not gobbledegook speakers.". Check in with Brittany to see what kind of words she posts.




Day: Friday

#Friday5th
Theme: 5th line on a WIP page

This is a Friday posting hashtag run by Kelsey McIntyre @KelseyNMcIntyre and Hypergraphia @alliemayauthor .
No theme but posting the "5th line on a page in your WIP".



#FictFri
Day: Friday
Theme: Votable and Optional and Posted

This is a Friday posting hashtag run by (yours truly) Gracie Mae DeLunac @Gracie_DeLunac . It is Fiction Friday - using clips from fictional WIPs for the posting hashtag.
The theme, like 2BitTues, is optional so if you don't want to post according to the theme, that's fine. The theme is chosen through a poll that I post up the previous week. Three options to chose from and whatever choice wins the poll is the theme for the next week. The theme is posted a few times before it goes into effect but, again, is optional. The theme is a "kickstart" to get you writing so if you don't want to use it, that is fine. "Just keep writing!"




Day: Saturday

#SatireSaturday
Theme: Satire/Comedy

This is a Saturday posting hashtag run by Brittany Pettegrow @scribalreverie . This is a hashtag to post humor, mocking, irony, exaggeration, ridicule and other such satire-ish stuff on a Saturday. No specific theme aside "satire"/"comedy".





Day: Weekends

#WhosYourCharacter
Theme: Describe/Introduce your characters.

This is a hashtag created by Rebecca Frohling @chipmunkofpower . It is a tool to share some quirks of your characters without having to go into details. "Join us Saturdays and Sundays for #WhosYourCharacter Weekend! Share bios, insp. pics, etc."
For example from Rebecca: "The Steward: Works at The Hospital. Terse and untalkative. Knows secrets even death would not divulge."







That's all that we have for now, that I know of. I will keep this post updated if I hear of other things to add! Keep writing!
~yume

12/07/2015: Added Monday #Ministory and #TwitterTuesday .
12/24/2015: Added #WIPWed thanks to Allie Kincheloe @Allie_Kincheloe .
02/08/2016: Added #SixWordStory / #6Words thanks to Kelsye Nelson @Kelsye . Added #3WordThurs thanks to Brittany Pettegrow @scribalreverie . Added #WhosYourCharacter thanks to Rebecca Frohling @chipmunkofpower .

Movie Review - "Problem Child 2" 07/03/1991

Of course, after we watched the first Problem Child movie, we had to watch the second one so here's a review for "Problem Child 2" which came out in July 3, 1991.

Viewed 12/05/2015




Trailer:

CAST
* John Ritter - Ben Healy in "Problem Child", Ben Hanscom in "IT" - Ben Healy, Little Ben
* Michael Oliver - Junior in "Problem Child" - Junior Healy
* Amy Yasbeck - Peggy Brandt in "The Mask", Marian in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" - Annie Young (Trixie's Mom)
* Ivyann Schwan - Trixie Young
* Gilbert Gottfried - Mr. Peabody in "Problem Child", Iago in "Aladdin" - Mr. Peabody


12/06/15-  I just realized, after posting both reviews, that the reason why Trixie's Mom - Annie Young looked like Flo Healy is that it was the SAME ACTRESS! HAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!



Plotline:
Junior's back! And he and Dad Benjamin Healy are moving away from the town of Cold River to a place called Mortville, where women to men ratio is 50/1 (or so says a neighbor). Divorce capital of the world or something like that... Complete with a "Love Rock" [a massive circular rock that has a pink heart-shaped marking on it]. Should Dad find a woman to marry in this small overpopulated-with-women town? Can Junior agree to any of them that Dad chooses?

Of course not!



Relationships:
* Big Ben and Little Ben & Junior
Guess who else is back? Grandpa. He never did get elected (for whatever it was - president?) and now he is broke too so he's staying at Ben and Junior's place. He brought his dog "Nip" with too, who is a pain in the rear it seems... Aside Grandpa crashing at Ben and Junior's place, there doesn't seem much relationship building between the generations. Grandpa seems to merely be around for the ride, so to speak.


* Ben Healy and Junior
Since Ben is now a single parent, he has to take care of his son on his own. That includes trying to discipline, feed, entertain, and teach him. The shinanigans that Junior pulled in the first movie are no longer against Ben but now are against would-be suitors (all the women who want to tie Ben down) because Junior just wants it to be the two of them together. Why would they need a woman in the house? They had Flo in the first movie and that didn't work well so why add another person, aside Grandpa being a squatter, to the mix?


* Junior and Trixie
Trixie is Junior's biggest trouble in the town. It started out that he shot down her balloon right as he arrived to town. She started getting after him as soon as he arrived at the elementary, mocking him and taunting him and shooting him with the fire hose. At one point, she flips him off and runs into the girls bathroom. He ends up going into the bathroom to confront her (saying "The bitch has to die") and she comes up with a stick of dynamite which she lights. [At this point I was like "WTF are you kidding me?!"] Junior says she's insane and flushes it down the toilet, where it runs through the pipes and explodes beneath his teacher's rear while he is on the toilet. We see the teacher later with gauze that looks like he has a diaper on but he seems 'okay'. Here's the scene:

At one point, Junior and Trixie end up becoming friends and stop attacking each other with their shinanigans. This is during supper at the local pizza shop where they realize that their school principal Mr. Peabody, the guy who used to be at the adoption agency that Ben Healy picked up Junior from, is at the place too. They agree that they hate the principal and end up starting a food fight, mainly between Junior's Dad/Trixie's Mom defending their kids, the two kids, and the principal. After they get kicked out of the pizza place, Junior realizes that maybe there could be something between his Dad and Trixie's Mom. Maybe, if Trixie was up to it, they could get the two of them together?



Music:
Not as good as the music for "Problem Child" but still decent. Still shows mischief caused by Trixie and Junior. ;-)



Negatives:
Let's see here. Junior causes people to throw up on a carnival ride (especially since Trixie was taunting him), petrifies a dog accidentally [which is depetrified by a can of Chow Down dog food], a kid trying to revenge on Junior drops a satellite dish onto Ben's head, Grandpa falls out of a second-story window trying to attack Junior, says that the b***h (Trixie) has to die for flipping him off, causes a food fight with Trixie, causes a scorned (ex?) husband of one of Dad's suitors to confront Dad on his date with the suitor, and puts cockroaches in a meal made by one of Dad's suitors. He also does not approve of a babysitter having a boyfriend over while Dad is on a date so he hooks up a camera and a live feed projector (in the yard) and the whole neighborhood watches the babysitter and boyfriend f**king via projector projected on the side of the house. Junior's science project is about how electricity works, via electric chair.

Trixie sprays Junior down with a fire hose at school, flips Junior off, causes a food fight with Junior, lights a stick of dynamite that Junior flushes which causes harm to a teacher, moves the Love Rock to stop a wedding ceremony, and gags/ties up classmates to be part of a puppet play.






Criteria:
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.


This would be a 4.5/5 for me. It wasn't as good as the first movie, since it was a sequel, but it was still pretty good. I personally prefer the first to the second movie. Overall it was good that the two guys stuck together and that Junior was able to come to terms with Trixie. Doesn't make all the negative things in this movie right. The balance of wrongs to rights in this movie was a bit too much for me, moreso than the first movie.
Would I watch it again? Sure. Would I get a hard copy and put it on my shelf? Sure, but probably only if my hubby suggested it first.






Bonus "Deleted Scenes":

Warning: the audio on this video is so messed up that by the end of the video it is almost 11 seconds ahead of the actual video. Adds some story to the tale; just not as much as the deleted scenes from Problem Child (1) did to the tale.

Movie Review - "Problem Child" 07/27/1990

Here's a movie that my hubby has wanted me to watch for a while so we watched last night (12/05/15): "Problem Child" which was released July 27, 1990.


Trailer:

Cast:
* John Ritter - Ben Hanscom in "IT" - Ben Healy aka Little Ben
* Michael Oliver - Junior
* Amy Yasbeck - Peggy Brandt in "The Mask", Marian in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" - Flo Healy
* Gilbert Gottfried - Iago in "Aladdin" - Mr. Peabody
* Michael Richards - Cosmo Kramer in "Seinfield" - Martin Beck aka Bowtie Killer




Plotline:
A child named Junior is problematic and hard to place with a "forever home". One couple find out they can't have children biologically so what do they do? Try adopting this child and have to learn how to deal with this wild child through different situations. Can they survive the problem child?




Relationships:
* Big Ben and Little Ben
The man who adopts Junior is named Benjamin Healy. His father is called "Big Ben" (Benjamin Healy) and owns a sports equipment store. The local baseball diamond has a "Big Ben" connotation also. So anyways, Big Ben and his son "Little Ben" have issues because Big Ben wanted his son to be a bit more competitive/back-stabbing. His son is "too nice" he says. Little Ben is trying to figure out how to please his father before they adopt but the adoption doesn't help the relationship any. In fact (as you can see in the above trailer), Big Ben calls Junior a devil child and Junior doesn't approve of that, throwing the cat at 'grandpa'. All through the movie, Big Ben keeps trying to convince Little Ben to return Junior though Little Ben says no. Little Ben does end up showing he has guts to stand up to his father, *spoilers* ruining 'grandpa's' campaign at the end. That doesn't help with the relation between Big Ben and Little Ben, though.


*Ben Healy and Flo
Little Ben's wife is Flo (Florence). She is the uptight preppy woman that I dislike. All she can think about is showing up to social gatherings, looking perfect and proper, having expensive stuff, and showing off her things. "I don't wear secondhand clothes so I won't have a secondhand kid," she even says. Ben convinces her otherwise because that way they can have a kid and the child can be the gateway to more social gatherings and Flo can have nice clothes to appear at the gatherings. She agrees, loving the idea that she can get new expensive clothes. [Like I said, I disliked her.]
When the going gets tough, Flo says that they should return the kid because she'd rather have no kids than have Junior. When Ben hears that Junior had been returned to the adoption agency 30 times previously, however, he goes into a noble speech about the fact that they are going to do the right thing by the kid and keep him. Flo is not happy about that. Their marriage turns into a debate about whether they should keep the kid or not. She's for getting rid of and he is for keeping.


*Ben Healy and Junior
Finally being able to become a father through adoption, Ben Healy tries his darndest to take care of his kid. Though he tries to help the kid, everything keeps messing up: He takes him camping with the neighbors (problems ensue); he puts him on his baseball team (problems ensue); he and Flo get Junior invited to a birthday party for another neighbor's kid (problems ensue).
Even though all these problems arise due to Junior's antisocial shinanigans, Ben keeps trying to be the caring father to the boy. He says that he will do the right thing for the kid, especially after he heard about Junior being returned 30 times to the adoption agency. It is not an easy path, mind you, but he tries his hardest.
At one point, *spoilers* Junior and Flo are kidnapped. Ben at first celebrates because he doesn't have to deal with them anymore but then realizes that Junior actually liked him. So he goes to fight for his son which finally earns him respect from Junior enough to be called "Dad".



Music:
I liked the use of the music in this movie. It synced with the movie well. They used "Bad to the Bone" occasionally when Junior was scheming something. One scene is the neighbor's daughter's birthday party. The girl was a little b***h to Junior because he wasn't a "real kid" since he was an adopted kid. She actually said something previously about the fact that they didn't have a kid, then they had a 7 year old kid, and that was gross. Her mother threatened to cancel her party (clown, ice cream, etc.) if she didn't behave. It was a costume party so what does Junior wear? A devil's outfit. Way to go. Anyways, the girl steps on his tail and says he can't go see the magic show because it is her party. Junior decides to show her a lesson for being so rude:

 "Its My Party (I'll Cry If I Want To)" by Lesley Gore
Perfect music for this scene!



Violence:
Okay, so aside the fact that Junior caused a nun to break her arm, made another nun fall down, made his new grandfather and cat to fall down the stairs, made his dad beat up the neighbor in the woods [Dad thought that neighbor Roy (in bear costume) was the bear], setting the clown decorations in his room on fire, ruining the neighbor girl's birthday party, and a few other incidences, this is a fairly clean movie. Aside Junior's shinanigans, there are two mentionable things that I can think of - a bad dude whom they called the Bowtie Killer {the inspiration for Junior to wear a bowtie} caused the prison warden to fall off a second story walkway, probably killed a psychiatrist in the prison as he escaped, stole two cars, kidnapped Flo and Junior, stuffed Flo into a suitcase in the trunk, punched a clown, and shot Ben. Bad guys do bad things... But still that was the extent of the non-Junior-shinanigans in this movie. Do I approve of them? No, especially Flo being stuffed into a suitcase though she kinda deserved to be brought down a notched [in my opinion].

Punching a clown:

I thought it was a bit funny though punching is bad, m'kay.






Criteria:
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.



I don't know what else to say above in the review so here's my rating: 5/5. I very much enjoyed this movie. I must say that the 90's movies seem to be better than today's movies and this movie supports that statement. This movie had wonderful music, had GREAT characters, had a good storyline, wasn't filled with sex/nudity and drugs/alcohol. The violence of Junior's actions and the Bowtie Killer's actions make this movie a borderline 4.5-5 but I think it was mild enough to keep the rating at a 5. For those that are sensitive regarding violence, you might want to take this as a 4.5 rating just in case.
I think I might try to get a hard copy of this movie. I think it should definitely hold a spot on my shelf. :-D








Bonus "Deleted Scenes":
This explains the broken front door and why Mr. Healy (Little Ben) squealed through the neighbor's garden. Nice.

Movie Review - "Super Troopers" 02/15/2002

Hubby wanted me to watch this with him so here's a review for "Super Troopers". This movie came out February 15, 2002.

Viewed via streaming online 12/03/2015.



WARNING! This is not appropriate for everyone due to drugs, sex, nudity, and language. But for the rest of us adults, here we go for the review!

Trailer:

Plotline:
Basically a bunch of state troopers mucking about and having fun messing around, this is about how their section is maybe going to get shut down due to budget issues. Can this handful of guys act serious enough to keep their job?

Oh, but a drug thing is also going on so what the heck can these troopers do? Go after the drugs. But stuff get in their way, aside just their stupidity.



Relationships:
No singular main character but one character does fall for a police officer woman who seems to have more brains than most of the guys in the state troopers division. *insert sex scene here and here and here*




Drugs/Alcohol:
Right at the beginning, a set of three teenage friends are driving down the road and see a state trooper. The two in the front freak out about their drugs and have the guy in the back eat it so they don't get caught with posession - marajuana and shrooms. They also dump some other drugs out the window and then the state trooper pulls back to pick it up and pull them over. It is a trippy scene which is pretty funny, even when you are watching sober. Here:

A lot of blocks of cocaine or crack or... I don't recall what kind they said it was but it is a major bust to find this much in the back of a semi truck trailer. And in a Winnebago.

They take some while they are watching a cartoon show ("Arabic anime") which is pretty lame, but the show seems to hold no meaning to English speakers without getting high.

The state troopers also drink a LOT, though they have to work. At one point, they were all so wasted drunk while they jumped into a car that I was thinking "this is NOT going to end well", though somehow it did manage to end well.





Sex/Nudity:
Let's see..... A state trooper wacking off in his car while looking at a hot chick's picture on a billboard is one. A horny German couple who stole a Porsche and the chick trying to get the state trooper to f**k her so to get out of a speeding ticket; the couple end up getting arrested and playing rough in one of the officer's homes. The one state trooper getting it on with the local police officer lady in the back of his car (where he has to bust the door off to get out) and getting it on in the impounded Winnebago [finding the stash of drugs].
Definitely not a kids movie. More of a "bite the lip and keep watching" kind of movie. ;-)




Music:
Didn't get in the way nor was too crazy.




Criteria:
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.


Honestly, I will put this at a 3.5/5. It was a good movie but the degredation of the role of officer was more that I would have liked. It was funny but at the same time I just wanted to turn it off. "Dumb and Dumber" meets "COPS", pretty much. If you don't want to see idiots as cops or cops as idiots, don't watch this. That's my main negative thing to say about this movie.

Would I watch it again? Maybe. Sure. Not something that I would think of watching right away for comedy, though.


Feel free to watch but you have been warned!





Oh by the way:

There is a Super Troopers 2 coming out in 2016. It was fully funded via indiegogo https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/super-troopers-2#/ April 24, 2015. So if you like this movie, watch for the sequel!

[My hubby is looking forward to it... :-P ]

Movie Review - "Boys" 02/09/2014 Netherlands

Doing research for a tale I am attempting to write, I decided to watch "Boys" which was a TV movie aired on February 9, 2014 in the Netherlands. This is the review for that movie.


Watched on Netflix: 11/29/15
Original Language: Dutch
Subtitles: English

Trailer:

Plotline
This is about four boys on the cross country team and their lives trying to ready for a relay tournament. The main character is named Sieger and he finds himself torn between liking a girl named Jessica and liking a boy named Marc, whom happens to be on his relay team.
The plot is well done to show character development and relationship development. I thought that the amount of instances between Sieger and Marc to create the relationship was a decent amount - not too many times and not too intense. It was like watching a "slowly getting to fall in love" hetero romance, but not hetero this time. It wasn't too hot'n'heavy and had no sexual content - it merely showed how they were getting to know each other.


Relationships
Sieger and family - Sieger's Eddy seems to trying to rebel and have a wild life full of fun. Their father doesn't agree. The two of them constantly have confrontations. One confrontation even had Eddy say "I wish you were dead" to his father. The relation between Sieger and his father, though, was able to show that Sieger cared for his father and tried to help his father out. Sieger ended up searching for his brother to say 'come home' and 'work it out between dad and you please'. Especially after their mother passed away (not knowing how long ago that was), it was a good thing that Sieger did try to keep the family together. By the end of the movie, it seems like the family will stick together.

Sieger and Marc - The four relay race members hang out with each other because they are the best of the cross country club. Once, they decided to go swimming after practice. Sieger and Marc spend more time together swimming and skipping stones and chasing cows, after the other two members leave. It was during this meeting that they exchanged kisses. Innocent kisses - 2 pecks only. Sieger says "I'm not gay" and Marc says with something like 'Of course you're not'. They have a few conversations, hanging out as friends, and continue their lives. Through the pauses that Sieger makes, though, we can tell that he is somewhat conflicted - he would like to be accepted (as all humans want) but he does like Marc. There is a bit closer to the end where the relationship between the two is strained though *spoilers* they still end up being friends. No indication about what happens regarding telling their families or whatnot, so the strain is not fully resolved [in my opinion].


Character Development
The main thing in this movie, aside dealing with familial issues and conflicting feelings, is the development of the main character Sieger. He has to develop as an athlete but he also has to figure out what he wants to do with his life. As a teenager, it is difficult (even in the best circumstances) to choose a life for oneself and to make the right decisions. While some heterosexual people are blatantly making out, he has to decide between appearing normal and making out with the girl {Jessica} or to sit awkwardly next to her. None asked him if he was queer, which was a good thing, but he was definitely trying to make it seem like he was "normal" having Jessica around. Closer to the end, someone asks why Jessica wasn't at the relay race and Sieger brushes it off. *Spoilers* He also ends up hanging out with Marc, which might have meant that he just didn't want to see Jessica anymore or that he knew what he wanted, even if it wasn't 'normal'.


Music
There was a song while they were camping, sung by Marc, and I was half expecting for Marc to say to Sieger that the song was meant for him. Actually, Marc was quiet about the whole thing and let Sieger make the decisions/moves after the first peck, which was quite nice to see.
The other song I recall was the very ending scene. The same song is in the trailer that I posted above. I kinda wished it was a Norweigan song but that's okay, I guess.



Criteria:
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.


4/5 - I think this was a good movie. It wasn't too "homosexual" though some people might see the two guys kiss and freak out. There was no actual sex, unless it was implied or happened off screen. I was disappointed in the fact that Sieger didn't tell his father about Marc but at least the two seemed to patch it up in the end. A good story but definitely not for everyone and I probably won't watch it again, but not repulsed by it.



A note on Dutch: I have never spoken, listened to, or read Dutch before this movie. Oh dear! It is interesting and unintelligible to me. Sorry to say to those that Dutch is their first language, but wowee! -.-; It seems to be an interesting language and I would like to look into it some more, but not right now. Maybe in the future. :-)


~yume

Movie Review - "The Sum of All Fears" 05/31/2002

Movie review for "The Sum of All Fears", released May 31, 2002, watched Nov 23, 2015.


Trailer

This movie had some pretty recognizable actors: Ben Affleck, Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell (Warden Hal Moores in "The Green Mile"), Ken Jenkins (Kelso from the show "Scrubs"), and Colm Feore (Lord Marshall in "The Chronicles of Riddick" and King Laufey in "Thor"). We watched it for Freeman, of course, but it was fun recognizing the other actors. ;-)


Plotline
The basic plotline is exploring the fact that Russia and the United States of America were enemies in the Cold War. This is after the Cold War, set around 2002.
A nuclear bomb was lost in Israel and was found. Neo-Nazis want to get the two countries (Russia and USA) to get into a war against each other. They get a chance to do so after the obese president of Russia passes away and a new president is appointed. Since the new Russian president seems to be a hard-a**, the Neo-Nazis take the chance and, after fixing the lost nuclear bomb from Israel, send it to the USA camoflauged. Of course, it gets complicated from there because *spoilers* the CIA doesn't find it and stop it from going off. What is to keep the two countries from exploding into bits? That's what the rest of the movie is about...


Character Development
The main development in the movie is Affleck's character Jack Ryan and his relationship with his gal. At first he tels her that he is a historian but, at the suggestion of his boss DCI William Cabot (Freeman), he tells her that he is part of the CIA and has to go to Russia instead of make it to a date with her. Through Cabot's suggestions, he ends up making it up with her and getting closer to her through the movie. That's pretty much ALL the character development.


Music
The music at the very beginning of the music was depressing though it was merely the setting up of the movie - ominous as if foreshadowing. Aside that, I do not recall any major incidences where the background sounds overwhelmed the move.


Interest
I found this to be an interesting movie. It was a bit slow at first but it did keep my attention. Hubby didn't think it was really something that he wanted to watch, mid movie, so he fell asleep during the movie, but I definitely thought it was something interesting.
This was based on a book by Tom Clancy. I have never read the book but it might be something I want to look into eventually.



Criteria:
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.




4/5 - I don't know what it could have used to make it better but this movie was pretty good. I would watch it again but am definitely not super excited to watch this again. Nor do I think I would buy the DVD. I think I would read the book first before buying the DVD.

High recommended.

Movie Review - "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" - 11/11/2010

Here is the movie to finish off the Millenium series. I watched this movie about 3 months ago, so this is going to be a really short post.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest was released in the US on November 11, 2010. I watched the film in the original Swedish with English subtitles.

Trailer:

Most of this movie was about Lizbeth trying to prove her innocence regarding all the things that happened in the first two movies. At first she dressed like they wanted her to dress but later, she was given permission to dress as she wanted. So cocky young adult in black garb, spikes on her clothes and her hair in a mohawk in court! - that was pretty awesome.

I liked the fact that Blomquist was there to help her out after she helped him previously. She was also able to finally get peace, after a few people died that were trying to go after her. In all, it was a very good ending for Lizbeth. On the way to the ending, of course, there was violence and death and pain. Sometimes you really do have to go through a lot of s**t to get to the ending.

As this is 3 months after I watched the film, I cannot remember much else to add regarding the film. It was a good film and it was very riveting. I enjoyed it.


Criteria:
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.


I definitely would give this movie a 4/5. It is a decent movie to watch after the other two movies, though it would not be good as a stand alone movie. If you are going to watch the other movies, then definitely watch this one! :-)

Movie Review - "Along Came a Spider" 04/06/2001

Well, I figured that since I haven't posted a movie review up here for a while, I might as well post what I can when I can. ;-) Here is the most recent movie I have watched: "Along Came a Spider", released in 2001. This movie was chosen by my mister because of Morgan Freeman, who is the main character of this movie. He is one of our favorite actors, along with Pesci and deNiro and a few others. :-)

Trailer:

Plotline:
A child is abducted by a man who was her computer tech teacher at a private school. We see so many guards and whatnot at the beginning of the movie so to say that it is a well guarded place. So to see this young child ( "three feet tall" ) abducted so quickly and easily from the school is a bit disturbing.

The abductor gets a hold of this guy named Dr. Cross , played by Freeman, who is a criminal profiler. He lost a partner 8 months prior to the child abduction and the abductor calls him out as a chicken. He also wants to get Cross to profile him and practically immortalize him as someone similar to the person who abducted Charles Lindbergh's child back in the 1930's, or so we are led to believe.


Music:
I couldn't hear much in this movie. I am glad that I didn't hear much because it was hard to hear sometimes anyways.


Character Development:
There isn't much character development in this movie though the abducted child does show her wit/intelligence trying to leave the abductor and blocks one out of the room that she was locked in, but supposedly she was this clever/intelligent at the beginning of the movie because she was sending digital notes to a friend before she was abducted.


Relationships:
Relationships are not a main focus in this movie because the main character is trying to find the abductor before the child gets killed. The first 48 hours are the most important in those kind of cases so the action needs to be quick.


Mental Stimulation:
I liked this movie a lot for the mental side of the story. How do you understand an abductor or a criminal? That's the main job of a profiler. [See the show "Criminal Minds" for something similar.] The way that Cross tries to think like the abductor and plays the game that the abductor set up is quite interesting indeed. It definitely made me think a bit and made me wonder if I would be able to do the same things that he did - criminal psychology.


I'm not going to say much more about this movie because (in general) all the above is all that has to be said, without giving spoilers. The plot twist in the movie was amazing but you have to see it for yourself because knowing it previously would ruin the movie, I think...


Criteria:
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.

I personally put this at a 4/5. It was pretty good and I definitely recommend it, but it isn't one of the movies that I would want to go buy the DVD. Well worth the view, especially if you like the criminal psychology / criminal minds / criminal profiling stuff. :-)

~Gracie Mae DeLunac

Regarding Kahlen

On Twitter today, a friend of mine and fellow writer named Jewel ( @JewelELeonard ) asked me to say something about one of my favorite characters from my Work in Progress.

I said:
My fav char is definitely not "write what you know". He says his mind and is artistic. Loves sketching and painting.
He is kinda feminine, long blue hair, lavender eyes, blue-grey skin. From Cael, a Caeln. (Prev. known as Uranus by Earth.)


I've been thinking (I know, that's a catastrophy in the making) about Kahlen. He is from a different planet, hence the different race, different skin color, different hair color, and different eye color. Yes, the description above is totally natural for him and his kind.
I like that he is artistic (sketching and painting). I love him because he is a mystery and yet not a mystery because he is so honest. I love him because he is different to me and very progressive, compared to how I was raised.

Right now, the character profile I have built for him questions me if I can write him the way I want to write him. Or how he needs to be written. Can I portray him properly?



I have one other thing that I guess I will divulge here. This has already been said, when I made Kahlen cry the other week - his race is naturally male. All male offspring. They have to undergo a procedure to become female. {No, not tranny. Thanks.}

Kahlen says that he wants to fall in love with my other Main Character [if you have been watching #TheValaWing on Twitter, you might be able to tell who it is...] but the first MC is traditionalist male-marries-female. Kahlen said that he is willing to change for the other MC, but I am having issues getting the two of them to bond before the surgery...
But even Kahlen himself said that love does not base on gender.


My main hiccup is that I was raised traditionalist male-marries-female. I support other relationship configurations and I support those that chose those relationships. I agree that love does not base on gender.

So how do I show love growing between two men (as friends first)? Or more importantly, how do I show love growing between two characters, regardless of gender?


This writer is stuck. I have to go think more on this....



Comment here or on Twitter if you have an idea or support. Thanks for listening to me admit my block.

~ yume <3

Challenge - Writing (pt. 2)

I said that I would make a part two to finish off my challenge presented by S. Hunter Nisbet. Part one of the challenge is located here. This is the part two I said I would post. Better late than never. ;-)


What is the best writing advice that anyone has given you?
Put time aside for writing. {The problem with this is life likes to get in the way... And when I do sit down to write, my characters are sitting next to me throwing a temper tantrum and refusing to talk to me. It is hard being a writer....}



What advice would you give to another writer?
"Write what you know" - is bull, unless you want to go and research how others react, how they think (psychology), and all that kind of stuff; or unless you are writing a memoir.
It is good to write what you know but at the same time, we are writing to create stories that are not out in the world yet so how can you "know" it? CREATE!!

Also - SAVE your work. In multiple areas. I have had a few times where I saved it to one place and then could no longer get to that place - floppy drives are out of date now, fyi. Luckily, I had some of them printed off so I can retype them, if I want to.



What are your favourite writing sites or blogs that you turn to for help, tips or encouragement?
Twitter - hands down. Have not found a site/blog that I like aside asking writer buddies on Twitter opinions on things. Makes me a loner, slightly, but that's kinda how I like it. Yes, introvert and writer makes me a complicated antisocialist.
Suggestions are always welcome, especially with trying to get beyond road blocks in the tales [like the last 1.5 weeks has had].



Besides writing, what else do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies?
I enjoy playing Legos on PS2/Nintendo DS/GameCube: Legos Indiana Jones, Legos Star Wars, Legos Harry Potter years 5-7, Legos Pirates of the Caribbean.

I also enjoy watching Doctor Who, House MD, and a few other shows. I just spent the last few days watching the first season of Once Upon a Time. Good storyline and great characters! One character made me want to write, though I feel un-creative.

I consider myself to be a hobby artist/photographer/writer. Some of my photos can be seen on DeviantArt {margem.deviantart.com}, though I haven't updated that in a WHILE. I recently got my camera to work again, and fully charged, so I may be posting pics up there every so often to share some. Who knows....?



What’s the best book you’ve read this year?
Reading.....? >.> I'm reading "From a Buick 8" by Stephen King but I have only read like 80 pages in 4 months. Slowly....



What’s the best movie you’ve seen this year?
Ummmm.... The Green Mile? Cat's Eye? Both based on Stephen King tales.



What is your favourite book or series of all time?
Book... Um.... I know what the (most favorite firsts) two books are but I can't remember the titles. Also can't find them in the books that I have on my shelf. They might still be in the garage. One is about a time traveler that uses the powers to better the world, making him nearly like a god and called himself (at the last of the tale) Loki.

The other is a post-apocalyptic tale about two characters trying to survive and, even with mutations and violence happening, they end up falling in nearly-love (mutual respect).
After researching and digging on the Internet 11/20/15, I found this tale:
"False Dawn" by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Same description as above but I can't find my book.... :-(

I also like the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card. I love the sci fi behind it and how intelligent Ender is, even with him trying to atone for what he does in the first book.

Another mention would be "The Eyes of the Dragon" by Stephen King - fantasy, horror, mystery/crime all in one. Very thrilling. The first Stephen King I ever read.
And "The Dark Half" by Stephen King - the personification of a writer's pen name coming after the writer for revenge/survival. :-D



Who is your favourite author?
Science Fiction - Orson Scott Card
Horror - Stephen King



What are your plans for the rest of the year in terms of your writing?
"Rest of the year" is 1.5 months. I hope to write more. Get over this blocky feeling. Maybe finish The Vala Wing tale finally (after 5 years, since it was my NaNoWriMo tale in 2010 under a different working title). I would also like to do some research for CfD and for CS, both of which are wanting to but silently refusing to be written. :-P



Where else can we find you online?
Twitter - Gracie_DeLunac

Facebook - GracieMaeDeLunac

GoodReads - Gracie-DeLunac

DeviantArt - Margem {Margem was my "pen name"/screen name before Gracie Mae DeLunac and haven't changed my name on there...}




I think that's everything. Question if you want to know more about me. ;-) Thanks for listening!

Challenge - Writing

A Challenge Has Been Accepted

"Okay, it’s sort of a lame-sounding game, but we’re writers and writing the answers to big long lists of questions about not only us, but our WRITING, is what we do best."
- S. Hunter Nisbet
 @ShunterNi on Twitter challenged me to do this "game" so let's get down to it... :-/ {Here is her blog post, if you are interested in what she had to say.}

When did you first start writing?
I first started writing when I was in elementary school. We had a quiet period where we were suggested to write some in a journal. I ended up jotting down ideas and coming up with a plot line here or there. I would have to say that I really "started writing" was around 5th grade - 1996/1997 ish. That's when I started the first piece that I actually remember working on. [See answer further down to here more about that.]



Was being a writer something you always aspired to?
Being a writer was not something I "always aspired to" but it was something that I always have enjoyed doing. I love telling tales and coming up with new places that are not in the real world. Writing allows me to do tell the tales, invent places, and connect with others. It has gotten harder lately since I realize that writing is not just about putting "the dog sat down on the rug" together but actually making a plot that is conclusive and makes sense. The 'makes sense' part is always the hardest for me. What 'makes sense' in my mind might never make sense to the readers out there, so it is hard to quantify if the tale is told correctly.





What genre do you write? 
I prefer to say that I usually deal with fantasy works. I have a tale in my mind that is a fantasy/supernatural/horror tale that I definitely want to bring to light, but the idea is still simmering on the mental stove top. I have always loved working with dragons, fairies, and mystical creatures. I also love to delve into mythology - Greek, Roman, Tolkien, and my own. So I would have to say that my favorite genres to write in are varied. Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction. One of my current pieces, however, is changing from a Sci Fi Fantasy to a Romance.  ....all because the plot line has two characters that are going to eventually get together, the plot screams at me saying "I AM A ROMANCE" (though I don't like reading romance novels...).



Can you tell us a little about your current work in progress? When did you start working on this project?
I have three Works In Progress (WIPs).
The most prevalent one is The Vala Wing - see #TheValaWing on Twitter to get glimpses of that one. It is set on a living forest planet named Hejkerba, species Savbri. The wing is a habitation wing on said planet and has eleven occupants. The Main Character (MC) is Kitrik Veran. He used to live on Gaia [previously dubbed "Earth" by the inhabitants] but was bought out of his family farm for development purposes. So he came up to Hejkerba so that he could have a quiet life. Obviously, Kitrik never realized that Gracie Mae DeLunac is not a "have a quiet life" kind of writer... So, I'm currently plaguing him and torturing him. Mainly through an old colleague of his from when they were at the university together, 15 years ago. And then there is the problem with trying to make one's own life and find a meaningful relationship, all while wondering if the neighbor is going to go INSANE on you. :-P  [This is what being a writer is about!] Oh, I started this one for a National Novel Writing Month [NaNoWriMo] challenge back in 2009/2010? Had to scrap the whole bit {20,000 words?}, pick up the characters, throw some characters out, redo the plot, and try again. I've been typing this version since spring of 2015 and am currently at 59,000 word count total. I wanted to call it Sci Fi/Fantasy but this is the one screaming that it is a Romance.

The second WIP is CS. Haven't done much writing on this one.Try 260 words total? Started thinking on this one back in August 2015 and just started typing on it in October 2015. Main points will be the concept of beauty, the view on female role in society/household, and feminine problems {That are downgraded and not understood by men!}. Yes, I do have some experience in these topics so it will be interesting....  Set in the future - DNA modification in utero and all that. Sci Fi? Maybe. A bit of Romance.

The third WIP is CtD. Also haven't written any on this one but I have been thinking about this for a few months now. The main topic in this one is rental issues. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get some sleep with a crying child next door or a drunkard who comes in at 2:15 AM every morning after bar close? ... I don't have to deal with the crying child nor the drunkard right now, but I have been there and heard that. It is annoying and my MCs are a family who want to get away from that. They are going to get into a house, for rent, that will have more issues than they want to deal with. I want this one to definitely be supernatural Horror. :-D




What was your first piece that you can remember writing? What was it about?
The first piece that I started writing was about a school bus that was like the Magic School Bus {I loved that show!} but could change the dimensions inside of the bus. The family, me of course being the mom, could have three bedrooms, a playground, a yard, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a few other things all inside of a bus. All we had to do was push a button and the rooms would change to include/not-include a room. :-D  [This was before I knew of Doctor Who, mind you. But maybe that means that I am a Timelord that has a TARDIS shaped like a school bus!! *squee!*]





What’s the best part about writing?
The best part about writing are my colleagues/friends, especially on Twitter. There are times that we just bicker about who is going to get a certain amount of words first. Other times, we are bouncing ideas off each other. I couldn't begin to mention the awesome people on Twitter because I would feel like I  am leaving someone out if I did.





What’s the worst part about writing?
Writing. No, seriously. The worst part about writing is trying to write when the words aren't there to help you tell the tale. When the characters and the plot line are not giving you any ideas on how to move forward with the story, it can be very frustrating. I ended up working on two other tales just so I could keep writing....






What’s the name of your favourite character and why?
Right now, my favorite character is Kahlen Nrio Zhe, from The Vala Wing. I can't say why. ;-)




How much time a day/week do you get to write? When is the best time for you to write (morning or night)?

It depends on the day, when I have to work, and how I am feeling. Sometimes the headaches and the feminine issues don't let me write much.
Night time is the best time for me to write because I can actually think without light. Brittany @scribalreverie says I'm a vampire for that. Maybe so.





Did you go to college for writing?
No. Spanish and Accounting. Not worth a penny, though.


What bothers you more: speeling errors; punctuation, errors, or errors for grammar?
Depends. Probably spelling the most, with punctuation right behind it.






Part two of challenge will have to wait as the library is ready to kick me off of the computers. They're closing for the night. :-P Laters!

Career WHAT - Nonfiction series in the making

Hello dear readers and Twitter-fans.
I would like to announce that I am working on a new nonfiction series. This series is called Career W.H.A.T. This series is about work. I know that is not necessarily the best topic to deal with but people wish to know about jobs before they get into jobs, right?


My series cover:

            What do you want to be when you grow up? Many children dreamed of becoming police, firefighters, astronauts, and actors. We don’t all follow those jobs, however, so what happened to all those dreamers? Some of us fall into a job just to make bills, but others of us actually start a career path that we think we will stay in. Sometimes we do stay on one career path but we also can change paths to go into a different field. Whether you are the college student who is looking to start a new career, the high school student who has to find a job to save up for a car, or an adult who is thinking of swapping careers, the main predicament is what field is the right one for me? No one can tell you exactly, but it is a good thing to do some research before choosing a field of work. How can you do the research without trial and error? Ask someone who has been there before. What is that field like? Is it worth it?

            The Career W.H.A.T. series is here to help you with those questions. Gracie Mae DeLunac has asked a few people about their experiences to bring you this book. In this book, people who have been there can answer a few of your questions: What is the training like? What kind of embarrassing experiences have you had, or seen, in the field? What nightmares does the job instill? What makes you enjoy this job? What do you hate about this field?  The answers may not be what you want to hear or they may be exactly what you need to hear. Maybe you will find that you might like this field or that you could not handle what they went through. Either way, step into their shoes to experience the field. Sit back and enjoy.

The "career fields" that I have put together:

1. Sales and Retail

2. Science

3. Medical (Vet, Doctor, Nurse, Ambulance, Paramedics, etc.)

4. Security (Police, Military, Mall cop, Bodyguard, etc.)

5. Firefighting

6. Delivery (Postal, FedEx, UPS, etc.)

7. Entertainment (Writers, Musicians, Artists, Actors, etc.)

8. Food Service (Groceries, Farming, Butcher, Pizza Delivery, Restaurants [Fast food, sit down, and take out], etc.)

9. Fashion (Design, Salon, Hairstylist, etc.)

10. Transportation – passenger (Bus, Train, Plane, Taxi, Limo, etc.)

11. Transportation – property (semis, etc.)

12. Hospitality (Hotels, Valets, CSRs, Wedding Planners, etc.)

13. Legal (Lawyers, Judges, Social Work, Politicians, etc.)

14. Teaching/Education

15. Financial (Insurance, Banking, Stocks, etc.)

16. Non-Profit

17. Fitness (Athlete, Trainer, etc.)

18. Technological

19. Business (Owner, Office Staff, etc.)

I am looking for volunteers to give me a few of their memories for these tales. Please contact me if you wish to volunteer.

~Gracie Mae

FYI - Twitter - Writing

Hey ya'll.
Just an FYI, I did not die. I just disappeared. I haven't done any reviews lately but I might be getting back to that. I wish to watch "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" next, on Netflix, for the reviews but haven't gotten into the mood for it lately [near a year?].

I have joined Twitter. https://twitter.com/Gracie_DeLunac @Gracie_DeLunac
If anyone is interested, I am there....

And yes, I am writing. Atrevea and False Prophecy are on the stand-by, if you are curious. I am working on Hejkerba again and this time, with a plotline!, I think I can write the whole thing. Wish me luck on that!

~Gracie Mae DeLunac

Movie Review - "Divergent" 03/21/2014

This movie review is for "Divergent" released in 2014, seen 8/25/2014 by Gracie Mae DeLunac.


Trailer:

Criteria:

0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.

1/5 – Barely worth any time.

2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.

3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.

4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.

5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, storyline, etc.

This is another one of those book-to-movie movies and, though I have not read the books, it seems like a very interesting plotline to me.  It is set in a post-war setting where a city (Chicago) has tried to survive as a united populace.  To do so, the population is separated into 5 factions - the smart (become doctors, etc.), the honest (become judges, etc.), the kind (are mostly farmers), the brave (become army), and the selfless (become government).  Each faction has their own way of life and their own way of surviving.  The question is if they can continue playing nice with each other or if they will have issues, especially trust issues and intelligence battles.

When a person comes of adult age (not mentioned what that age was), they have to take a mental test to see what faction they fall into.  Some take the test and find out that they are not categorized as one single faction.  They are labeled Divergent, a threat to society according to some of the Erudite (smart faction). The main character Beatriz, later known as Tris, is one of these people.

They have to then choose which faction they want to go into and hopefully their choice is to be with their born faction or the faction that the test suggest they are most compatible with.
For Beatriz and her brother, they both chose a non-born faction, which made society wonder why.

The rest of the movie is pretty much Tris (she changes her name when she gets into her new faction) learning how to be part of her new faction and how to hide the fact that she is a Divergent.  Oh, and there is a disagreement between factions, started by the Erudite pretty much "in the interest of all".  :-/


Music:
The music was exciting.  I was trying to pay attention to it more than usual because the beginning credits said that Hans Zimmer did the arrangements.  For those of you who don't know who Hans Zimmer is, he is the one who did the Pirates of the Caribbean music arrangements.  For this movie, it was very well placed.  :-)


Relationships:
Beatriz's relations with her parents were not really expounded because she wasn't with them long in the beginning of the movie.  Just enough to know that she cared for her parents and brother.
Tris' relation with her initiates seemed to be just a "we're new to the place" kind of relation and not much more details to it.  Sure they hung out after one of the tests but not like intimate conversations with them.
Her relation with a guy (not mentioning who) seemed a bit haphazard.  It kinda just happened.  She ends up telling him "I love you" though they also kinda seemed to be thrown together because they are both in the faction together.  They end up with a happy ending, even when the world seems against them, but no more info for you because that would be a slight spoiler.



---------
As this is 06/22/2015 and still not posted, I will cut the review short and give it a rating.
4/5 - I liked this movie and am interested in seeing more about this series. I definitely think this is a better story for younger females than some I have seen (Twilight, sorry). Check it out if you wish! :-)