Insurgent
Release Date: March 20, 2015
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Director: Robert Schwentke (RED, The Time Traveler’s Wife, R.I.P.D.)
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Jai Courtney, Mekhi Phifer, Miles Teller, Zoë Kravitz, Octavia Spencer
Plot: THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT raises the stakes for Tris as she searches for allies and answers in the ruins of a futuristic Chicago. Tris (Woodley) and Four (James) are now fugitives on the run, hunted by Jeanine (Winslet), the leader of the power-hungry Erudite elite. Racing against time, they must find out what Tris’s family sacrificed their lives to protect, and why the Erudite leaders will do anything to stop them. Haunted by her past choices but desperate to protect the ones she loves, Tris, with Four at her side, faces one impossible challenge after another as they unlock the truth about the past and ultimately the future of their world. (Official Website)

Thoughts: The first movie in “The Divergent Series” was a little hit and miss for me. It had an interesting future/sci-fi world and enough going on to get my attention, but sadly it also had some logic leaps and a perplexing ending. (next comment includes spoilers for the first movie) After taking some hits, the good guys saved the day. They defeated the “evil” Jeanine and stopped her plan. Then for unexplained reasons, they let her live and they fled. That is very frustrating as our heroes (Tris & Four) were very willing to kill their enemies- heck, earlier in the movie, Tris even had to kill a brainwashed friend. Now in the new movie they are fugitives on the run from Jeanine. Wait, really?

I just hope the movie isn’t the first one recycled and doesn’t follow the recent book adaptation trend of just being a middle entry in a series that has absolutely no beginning or end. Nothing is more frustrating for this viewer than a movie that just ends with no resolution.

Check out these Divergent Series products…

Release Date: February 15, 2013
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Director: John Moore
Cast: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Yuliya Snigir, Radivoje Bukvic, Cole Hauser, and Amaury Nolasco.
Plot: Bruce Willis is back as iconoclastic, take-no-prisoners cop John McClane, who for the first time finds himself on foreign soil after traveling to Moscow to help his wayward son Jack (Jai Courtney)– unaware that Jack is really a highly-trained CIA operative out to stop a nuclear weapons heist.

With the Russian underworld in pursuit, and battling a countdown to war, the two McClanes discover their opposing methods make them unstoppable heroes.

Thoughts: I am a huge Die Hard fan and I’ll always be excited for a new action flick that features Bruce Willis’ John McClane. The original movie is near perfect and is one of the top actions movies of all time (and one of the best Christmas movies ever made). The second was a bit lackluster (Die Harder), but the series rebounded with an awesome third movie (Die Hard with a Vengence), only to be followed by a disappointing forth flick (Live Free or Die Hard).

As it stands, the odd numbered Die Hard movies are the strongest, so A Good Day to Die Hard should be good, right? Sadly, the early buzz is not great and John Moore as the director makes me even concerned- he already delivered a awful adaptation of Max Payne, a video game that was already cinematic yet his version lacked the game’s visual appear and style. I love the idea of John McClane fighting along side his just as badass son (and look at that poster, they do look like family), but will they be enough to make the movie entertaining? The movie hit theaters this past Friday, so why are you here reading this? If you are a fan of Die Hard, go check it out!

We are only 20 days away from a new John McClane adventure in A Good Day to Die Hard and I’m surprised that I haven’t seen a lot more advertising for the action flick. We can thank the official Die Hard Facebook page for this awesome poster that looks back at the original flick.

Bruce Willis returns to the role that made him an action hero on February 14th where he is joined by Jai Courtney, who takes on the role of his son. Will A Good Day to Die Hard live up to the original? We’ll see…