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…

You must have heard by now that after Ridley Scott is done with his Alien “prequel”, that he will be returning to the world of replicants and the dystopian future society in Blade Runner. Now, as much as I would love to see Ridley Scott direct a follow up to Blade Runner, I can’t help but worry that it will take something away from the original. The mystery that we were left with at the end of the movie. Sure, he could be crafting a new story set in the world, heck it might even take place before or around the time of the original movie (again like his new Alien universe movie Prometheus). But will he be able to capture the magic of the original? Harrison Ford’s Deckard? Rutger Hauer’s Roy Batty? Will modern CGI make the world seem a little too clean?

Recently we were treated to new images and a plot synopsis for the new entry into the Underworld series, and now we have a full trailer! After a one film break Kate Beckinsale returns as Selene, and much has changed over the years. Vampires have been revealed to the world, hunted down and imprisoned. Only few remain in hiding. Will Selene be able to rally them and save her people? As an audience member are we supposed to be rooting for the vampires to defeat the humans? Because that seems kinda off. The lovely Beckinsale is joined in this installment by Michael Ealy, India Eisley, Stephen Rea, and Theo James. It comes out January 20th, 2012. Click here to check out the film’s trailer.