Movie Review: Paper Towns

Paper Towns

(Contains Spoilers)

Movie:

Film Corporation: 20th Century Fox

Released to Theatre: July 24th, 2015

Audience Rating: 6.6

Length of Time: 109 minutes

Director: Jake Schreier

(Movie trailer)

Book:

Title: Paper Towns

Author: John Green

Publisher: Speak

Release Date: September 22nd, 2009

Format: Paperback, 305 pages

Movie Review:

   All the strings inside him broke.

   After reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and seeing how perfect they made the adaption I was excited to hear the news of a Paper Towns adaption. Unfortunately that was before I had read the book, after reading it all I could hope for the adaption was for it to be better than the book.

   To me the movie was the same level of dull as the book was, it was plain and boring. There was nothing special to the plot, or storyline. I found John Green's characters in Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska to be too alike that when reading Paper Towns I just kept getting flashbacks from reading Looking for Alaska. 

   Although they film makers did a great job recreating the settings and story, the film just wasn't for me. The only things that I enjoyed from the film was the secret cameo of Ansel Elgort, and when drunk Ben started singing the Pokemon theme song and everyone joined along.

   I stopped caring for John Green and his books and films a few books ago, I think Paper Towns confirmed for me that they just aren't for me.

Overall Rating:

Favourite Scene:

   My favourite scene would 100% have to be when they make their gas station pitstop, and Ansel Elgort was behind the desk. Before we started watching the movie my friend and I were laughing about how Nat Wolf was in The Fault in Our Stars as well, so when Ansel popped up we screamed with laughter. It was one of those, you had to have been there moments I guess.

Favourite Quotes:

  "You have to get lost before you find yourself."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

High School, Teenagers, Adventure, Travels, Nat Wolf, Ansel Elgort, Contemporary 

Movie Review: Insurgent

Insurgent

(Contains Spoilers)

Movie:

Film Corporation: Red Wagon Entertainment

Released to Theatres: March 20th, 2015

Audience Rating: PG-13

Length of Time: 119 minutes

Director: Robert Schwentke

(Movie Trailer)

Book:

Title: Insurgent

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Release Date: May 1st, 2012

Format: Hardcover, 525 pages

Movie Review:

   One choice can destroy you.

   When I first saw Divergent as a movie I thought it did pretty good for a book adaption, though it still wasn't one of my favourites by far. They had already announced a sequel movie and the third book being split up into two more movies. I thought that it'd be okay, that they could probably manage a great series but then I saw the Insurgent trailer. I just knew the movie was going to be a pain in the butt.

   When opening week rolled around all I heard was bad reviews of the movie, knowing that it was everyone else's own personal reviews I still wanted to see the movie. It wasn't till a month after it released that I finally did. 

   Just like the first movie, I wasn't a huge fan of Insurgent. At this point I think they just took the main ideas from the book and left it at that, just like what they did with The Vampire Diaries TV show. The movie had facts messed up, and actually dropped a lot. It's understandable that things are dropped when making a movie, but this time important things were dropped that were significant to the plot and the last book's plot as well. 

   Besides the points where they messed up, they actually did some things right. Like FINALLY having Uriah in the movie, or with the message from the founders. I was really glad to see Uriah, as he was my favourite character in the series but I still wished he got more screen time considering he was supposed to be a main character in the book.
   Insurgent was a seemly enjoyable movie to see, it would have probably been a better movie to see if you hadn't read the book to know what they did wrong but overall still enjoyable.  

Overall Rating:

Favourite Scene:

   I didn't have any particular scene that I liked above the rest, I really just enjoyed every scene with Uriah in it. He was always my favourite character in the books. 

Favourite Quote:

"You are worth it to me." ~ Tobias Eaton

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thrillers, Dystopian, Rebelling heroes

   What did you think of the movie?

Movie Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

Mockingjay

(Contains Spoilers)

Movie:

Film Corporation: Lionsgate

Released to Theatres: November 21nd, 2014

Audience Rating: PG13

Length of Time: 123 minutes

Director: Francis Lawrence

(Movie Trailer)

Book:

Title: Mockingjay

Author: Suzanne Collins

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: August 24th, 2010

Format: Hardcover, 390 pages

Movie Review:

  Ms. Everdeen, it's the things we love most that destroy us.
   Catching Fire was one of my favourite YA adaptions of all time, so you can understand my excitement when Mockingjay was finally in theatres. I was rather disappointed with it to be honest, it just wasn't one of my favourites. Then again I also didn't enjoy Mockingjay as a book, but I still had high hopes especially after Catching Fire.
   I had two major concerns about Mockingjay, the first and top one being that the movie was basically Katniss and Snow messaging each other back and fourth. Actually that's exactly what it was. Just saying that was a pretty decent sum up of the movie.
    The second concern I had for the book was that Annie was supposed to be unstable. Even from the brief moments that we saw her in the book it was obvious that she wasn't. The question now is, will they fix it for Part 2?
   Overall the movie did hold my attention and I still had a good time watching it. No matter what I say, I'm still rather excited for Part 2. I hope Mockingjay Part 2 turns out better then this one did.
   Mockingjay Part 2 hits theatres November 20th, 2015.

Overall Rating:

Favourite Scene:

   My favourite scene from the movie was after the attack at District 13 and Katniss went above to shoot a message to show the capital that they were still living and found the white roses. The acting Jennifer Lawrence did in that scene was phenomenal.

Favourite Quote:

" Are you coming to the tree? ~ Katniss

Recommend to People Who Enjoy: 

Adventure, Sci-Fi, Action, Dystopian, Rebellion 

  What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments!

Movie Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

 

Catching Fire

( Contains Spoilers)

 

Movie:

Film Corporation: Lionsgate

Released to Theatres: November 22nd, 2013

Audience Rating: PG13

Length of Time: 146 minutes

Director: Francis Lawrence

(Movie Trailer)

Book:

Title: Catching Fire

Author: Suzanne Collins

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: September 1st, 2009

Format: Hardcover, 391 pages

Movie Review:

   Make them pay for it.
   The Hunger Games trilogy was once again another series that I just didn't love. The Hunger Games was definitely my favourite, but with Catching Fire I really loved the idea of the Quarter Quell. So here we are.
   I find that the first movie in a series always is more of a low budget then the rest of the series. That was the case with Twilight, and it was also the case with The Hunger Games. Catching Fire was organized and put together so much better then Hunger Games was. Add the new graphic effects and more intense backdrops, it was a beautifully put together movie. I can say it was my favourite movie adaption before If I Stay was released, now it is my second favourite adaption.
   From what I remember about Catching Fire the book, I believe the movie almost exactly on point with the movie. It introduced all our beloved characters from Catching Fire, it showed what happened to the characters after the games, and it showed all the character development. Out of all the characters in the book, I think Effie had the best character development. In the beginning of The Hunger Games Effie was excited for the reaping, she was glad to be there and thought the games were a wonderful experience. But for the reaping in Catching Fire, she was devastated. Effie had grown to love both Peeta and Katniss, now they were going to be put back into the games. She did not want to see her loved ones hurt again. By Catching Fire, Effie finally understood how terrible the games were.
   Finally I'd like to say that every time someone called Katniss the Mockingjay I would cringe. Katniss was never the Mockingjay, she was never the spark. Rue was, Rue was the spark that made Katniss want to change the games, made her want to change the districts. Rue is the Mockingjay, Katniss will forever be The Girl on Fire.
   I adored Catching Fire the movie, and couldn't enjoy the book. The same went for me with Mockingjay, I hope it turns out the same way it did with me and Catching Fire. Loving the movie and hating the book. Mockingjay is definitely a movie I want to see, I can't wait to see how it turns out!
 

Overall Rating:

Favourite Scene:

  My favourite scene in Catching Fire would have to be when Johanna started to strip in the elevator. Just looking at Haymitch's, Peeta's and Katniss's faces were the best thing pieces of beautiful ever.

Favourite Quote:

   " What about you girl on fire? Have any secrets worth my time?" ~ Finnick

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

 Adventure, Sci-Fi, Action, Dystopian 

   What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments!

Movie Review: The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner

Contains Spoilers:

Movie:

Film Corporation: 20th Century Fox

Released to Theatres: September 19th, 2014

Audience Rating: PG13

Length of Time: 113 minutes

Director: Wes Bell

(Movie Trailer)

Book:

Title: The Maze Runner

Author: James Dashner

Publisher: Delacorte Press 

Release Date: October 6th, 2009

Format: Paperback, 375 pages

Movie Review:

   WICKED is good.

   I'd just like to state two things before I go on, one; I was never a big fan of The Maze Runner book and two; I first read The Maze Runner two years ago. So I was really rusty when it came to finding differences between the two.
  When I first saw the movie trailer for The Maze Runner I was definitely excited to watch the movie. I've always felt that if you enjoyed the book then you wouldn't enjoy the movie or vice versa, you didn't enjoy the book and liked the movie.( An example would be my sister hating this movie but loving the book) I understand that is not always the same but I find most of the time it is. With me this is usually the case, which I was right with this movie.
  I am a huge fan of Dylan O'Brien.( He played Thomas) Naturally this made me a bit more intrigued to see the movie, but besides that Dylan did a perfect job portraying Thomas. Dylan also plays a curious and brilliant character on the show Teen Wolf, while watching the movie I could definitely see the little bits and pieces of that curiosity for Thomas's character, because of Dylan's role in the show you just know that he has the curiosity part down.
  When I first heard of an upcoming film I was excited to see how they would show the maze and the grievers. They definitely succeed past my expectations for both of these. The maze wasn't your basic ideal maze but a huge complicated design that was a mix of mechanics and plain old concrete. The Grievers were also designed to look and have the same feel of the maze. It was phenomenal how they designed everything.
   I didn't really enjoy Maze Runner the book, but after watching the movie I'm definitely going to give The Scorch Trails a go and I look forward to seeing the next movie!

Overall Rating:

Favourite Scene:

   My favourite scene in the movie would have to be when Thomas just knew he had to remember what had happened before the Maze, so he just stabbed himself with the griever stinger.

Favourite Quote:

" Everything we've done to you... it was all done for a reason." ~ Ava Paige

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

   What did you think of the movie? Let me know in the comments!

Movie Review: Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy

Contains Spoilers:

Movie:

Film Corporation: The Weinstein Company

Released to Theatres: February 7th, 2014 

Audience Rating: PG13

Length of Time: 104 minutes

Director: Mark Waters

(Movie Trailer)

Book:

Title: Vampire Academy

Author: Richelle Mead

Publisher: Razorbill 

Release Date: August 16th, 2007

Format: Paperback, 332 pages

Movie Review:

   After watching the trailer for Vampire Academy I had thought that this would be one bad ass movie. Of course, first impressions aren't always right.
   I've never really been a fan of Dimitri, I always pictured him as a late 30 year old trying to date a 17 year old. Besides that, I still had high hopes for the actor choice. So of course, he was the only character that I didn't like the actor for. Zoey Deutch was absolutely the perfect choice. Zoey had the right look from the start, nothing was added or changed to make her look more like the character. There's also the fact that she played the perfect Rose! Lucy Fry  was another wonderful choice, same goes with Dominic Sherwood and Sami Gayle.
   Vampire Academy was paced furiously fast. It was infuriating. An example was when Rose was having a make out session with Jesse, they were making out for exactly 4 seconds before Dimitri came in and the scene changed. It's almost impossible to describe how fast it is with out watching the movie.
   The movie felt like it had scenes from different books in the series. I guess that's one way of the movie feeling like it was going too fast as well. So many unnecessary parts were added to this movie, if they wanted to make the movie longer then they should have slowed the pace of the important scenes.
   This movie could have done so much better. I was very disappointed with the final result and I feel/know we won't be seeing a sequel sometime in the future.

Overall Rating:

Favourite Scene:

   My favourite scenes would have to be when Rose gets pulled into Lissa's head. I feel like they did it perfectly. 

Favourite Quote:

"Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission."~ Dimitri 

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Horror, Vampires 

   What did you guys think of the movie? Let me know!

Movie Review: If I Stay

If I Stay

Contains Spoilers

Movie:

Film Corporation: WarnerBros.

Released to Theatres: August 22nd, 2014 

Audience Rating: PG13

Length of Time: 106 minutes

Director: R.J Cutler

(Movie Trailer)

Book:

Title: If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Speak

Release Date: April 6th, 2010

Format: Paperback, 262 pages

(Ohana Reads Book Review)

Movie Review:

   Sometimes you make choices in life, and sometimes they make you.
   I couldn't stand to wait even one week to see this movie after it was released. The trailer had gotten under my skin, I needed to see the perfection that was the movie.
   I adored Jamie Blackley, as well as almost the rest of the cast. The actor's and actress's were nicely chosen, I could definitely see them as my favourite characters from the novel. Unfortunately Chloe Grace Moretz was not my Mia, on screen she just looked so fake to me. Like she had to dye her hair for the film, dying ones hair doesn't bother me. I do that myself, it's the fact that she had to try so hard to look like Mia just to get the part that bothered me. All the other actors looked and were the characters, Mia wasn't supposed to look like her family, she wasn't supposed to fit in with them, but she did. Jamie on the other hand played the perfect Adam, the looks, the act, it was all impeccable. I couldn't or would't be able to find a better Adam.
  The movie was precise when it came to sticking to the book's plot. Any fan of the book would appreciate how well it was close it stayed. The only thing that bothered me was that when it came to Adam and Mia kissing, those scenes tended to be a bit long. As in they would kiss to a point where you as a member of the audience would start to feel awkward.
   My all time favourite experience to the movie was Willamette Stone's music. For the band, Adam is supposed to write and sing all the songs. In real life, Jamie actually created those songs. I found that kind of perfect, the music is spectacular as well! I can't stop listening to it, my favourite song being Today, and a close favourite being Heart Like Ours. But honestly, I loved all the songs for the movie.
   If you were debating on wither or not to see If I Stay, I think you should definitely give it a chance! And while you're at it, take a moment and appreciate Jamie's handy work that is Willamette Stone. I will definitely be seeing this movie again soon! 

Overall Rating:

Favourite Scene:

   My favourite scene would be when Mia's father truly understood his daughters passion for the cello. The scene where he is just sitting outside her door listening to her play for hours. He sacrificed her love for his music as well as his close belongings just to be able to buy Mia a new cello rather then a beat up one. 

Favourite Quote:

   “It’s very inconvenient to fall in love at your age, especially if it’s the real thing.” - Mia's Mom

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Drama, Music, Romance, Tragedy, Family

   What did you think of If I Stay the movie? Let me know in the comments!