Divergent

Posted on March 20, 2014 at 6:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for intense violence and action, thematic elements and some sensuality
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Mind-altering drugs
Violence/ Scariness:	Intense and graphic peril and violence with many characters injured and killed, some disturbing images, guns, fighting, suicide, deaths of parents, sexual assault
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	March 21, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	August 4, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00GQQ75QO

Another day, another movie based on darkly dystopic book trilogy with a brave and beautiful teenaged girl who is the only one who can save the world. This time it is Tris (Shailene Woodley), who lives in a post-apocalyptic Chicago, where the ravages of a barely-remembered but devastating war have resulted in a totalitarian society that appears benign but is brutal and corrupt.

What is left of civilization has evolved or devolved into a rigidly divided society. There are five factions each named for its sole defining characteristic. Annoyingly, some of those names are nouns and some adjectives, because none of the factions have grammar as a specialty, but they are descriptive. There is Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). The tasks of the society are assigned appropriately. Amity are the farmers. Dauntless are a combination of law enforcement and military. Abnegation care for everyone, even the factionless, and due to their tradition, culture, and ethos of putting the good of others before themselves, they are the governing body.

Each year, all the 16-year-olds are tested to determine whether they will stay in their faction of origin or are better suited for another. If they leave, they never go home again. The slogan is “Faction over blood.”

Beatrice Prior’s test shows that she is a rare “divergent,” combining the qualities of three of the factions: Abnegation, Erudite, and Dauntless. This means that she has a unique ability to solve problems and understand issues more deeply in a way that threatens the ruling and would-be ruling powers. She does not tell anyone and chooses Dauntless while her brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort, who will be Woodley’s romantic interest in the highly anticipated upcoming “Fault in Our Stars”), chooses Erudite.

Beatrice choses a new name for herself: Tris. She and the other inductees are subjected to an intensive boot camp to learn to fight and prove their courage. The top performers will stay with Dauntless. The ones who do not make it will be factionless, which means homeless and shunned. Part of the training includes sessions in a fear room, where the subject’s worst and most disturbing fears are revealed to themselves and to the people conducting the tests. Tris’s test is overseen by Dauntless leader Four (hunky-but-sensitive-for-a-Dauntless Theo James). There is a strong connection between them for reasons they do not yet understand.

Kate Winslet plays Jeanine, the calm but steely Erudite who acts as a sort of Chief Operating Officer of the entire community. She is convinced that human nature is something to triumph over, even eliminate entirely, in order to preserve the peace, and if preserving the peace means chaos and murder, she will not hesitate because she believes it is for the greater good. Not being Candors, the Erudites have been spreading rumors about the Abnegations to try to take over as rulers. They cannot do it without the support of the faction with physical courage. What is the best way to get that support?

Much of the storyline involves the series of physical and psychological tests that Tris and her fellow inductees must take, knowing that anyone who does not excel in every category will be kicked out and shunned. It is fun to see Tris come into her own, making the most of all she has to draw from and to give to others. She knows you do not have to be harsh to be strong, or weak to be kind. And her divergent thinking ability enables her to evaluate options, assess probabilities, and plan strategically. Woodley carries the most improbable of the story’s twists with sincerity and sweetness that keeps us on her side. And it is a relief, for once, to have a YA female-led trilogy that does not depend on a love triangle to hold our interest.

Parents should know that this film includes intense and graphic peril and violence with many characters injured and killed, some disturbing images, guns, fighting, suicide, loss of parents, mind-altering drugs, some strong language, sexual assault, romantic kissing and brief discussion of waiting to have sex.

Family discussion: Which group would you pick and why? What is the significance of Four’s name? What compromises of freedom are necessary for peace?

If you like this, try: the books by Veronica Roth

Gimme Shelter

Posted on January 23, 2014 at 6:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving mistreatment, some drug content, violence, and language, all concerning teens
Profanity:	Very strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drugs
Violence/ Scariness:	Abuse including attack by a parent
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	January 24, 2014
Date Released to DVD:	April 28, 2014
Amazon.com ASIN:	B00HW3EJQE

Vanessa Hudgens gives a touching and sensitive performance in this fact-based story of a pregnant, homeless teenager. Both Hudgens and writer/director Ron Krauss moved into a shelter so that they could do justice to the stories of these young women. That dedication and integrity lifts this above the Afterschool Special formula for an affecting drama that shows us the resilience and courage of girls who have to learn very quickly to be the loving parents they never had.

Hudgens plays Agnes, who insists on being called “Apple,” for reasons we do not learn until the end of the story. We first see her hacking off her hair, whispering reassurance to herself as she gets in a cab to run away from her shrieking, strung-out mother (a feral Rosario Dawson). She is going to find her wealthy father (Brendan Fraser), who has never seen her before. She briefly stays with him, but it is clear that she does not fit in with his elegant wife and pampered children. They do not trust her and she is not ready to trust anyone. When they find out that she is pregnant, they pressure her to have an abortion. She runs away again.

In a hospital, recovering from an accident, she meets a kind priest (James Earl Jones), who brings her to a shelter based on Several Sources, established by Kathy DiFiore, who, as she explains in one scene, was once homeless herself and as soon as she was able to take care of herself devoted her life to taking care of young women in need of support. DiFiore is played by the always-outstanding Ann Dowd (“Compliance,” “Garden State”), with enormous compassion and strength. Apple has a lot to overcome, including the fury of her mother, who wants her back so she can get the welfare money Apple and her baby will receive, but most of all, she has to learn how to be a part of a family, how to trust others, and how to trust herself. Somewhere inside her, all along, there is the hope of a different life, almost overshadowed by the fear that she does not deserve it. Hudgens shows us Apple’s ferocity, her vulnerability, all the ways she has been beaten down and all of the strength she has to keep coming back. The result is a story that is touching and inspiring, with photos in the closing credits to show us that happy endings are not just for fairy tales.

Parents should know that this movie’s themes include homelessness, drug abuse, child abuse, teen pregnancy, abandonment, and homelessness. There are portrayals of a brutal attack by a parent, a car crash, and tense and angry confrontations.

Family discussion: Why did Agnes decide to be called Apple? What did the girls learn from reading their files? What did she find in the shelter that she could not find anywhere else?

If you like this, try: “Riding in Cars with Boys,” “Juno,” and “Homeless to Harvard”

G.B.F.

Posted on January 14, 2014 at 1:50 pm

Writer George Northy and director Darren Stein manage to subvert and salute the traditions of the high school comedy in this smart, fresh, and funny story that shakes up the classic elements of teen movies but recognizes their eternal verities. It is fitting that a story about undermining stereotypes slyly undermines expectations of high schoolers and high school movies. Everything from “Mean Girls” to “Clueless” to “Pretty in Pink” gets shaken and stirred.

High school makes a great setting because it is a universal experience of heightened emotions that lend themselves well to comedy, drama, and identity. It is the last place where everyone is pretty much stuck together. The core elements of high school movies usually feature an outcast and often end up at prom. “G.B.F.,” which stands for “gay best friend” follows that formula. It is the story of two closeted gay seniors in a school that (improbably) does not have a single out gay student. While a few years ago, this might have been a touching story about the courage to come out and confront homophobia, and a few years before that a comedy about a student pretending to be gay but really being straight, this film is set in a school with straight students who are desperately hoping for openly gay classmates to come out so that they can befriend them. It’s hard to have a gay-straight alliance without any gay members. And not one, not two, but three high school divas are desperately seeking a GBF as an accessory, to tell them how fierce they are.

The three divas are drama queen (really, she rules the theater clique) Caprice (Xosha Roquemore), Mormon goodie girl ‘Shley (Andrea Bowen) and capo de tutti capi Fawcett (Sasha Pieterse). When Tanner (Michael J. Willett) is accidentally outed via an app on his phone, he all goes from zero to hero as the three girls compete with each other for his attention and favor. The girls have a few surprises in store as well, as does Shley’s boyfriend.

The tone falters in spots and the acting falters frequently. The appearance of Natasha Lyonne as a teacher just reminds us of how much better she was as a teen actress (especially in another gay-themed film, “But I’m a Cheerleader”) than many of the cast here. But the quick, witty dialogue and the good heart of the film make it fun to watch and the heartening message helps smooth over the rough spots.

Contest

Posted on December 16, 2013 at 9:42 pm

“Contest” more than makes up for some first-time-filmmaker shortcomings with its sincerity and unexpected strengths in the storyline and cinematography.

Tommy (Danny Flaherty) is a high school loner, often bullied by the swim team jocks led by Matt (Kenton Duty). Both boys do not have parents. Tommy lives with his grandmother (“The Good Wife’s” Mary Beth Peil), who owns a pizzeria. Matt lives with his older brother Kyle (Kyle Dean Massey).

When security camera footage of the swim team throwing Tommy into the pool lets Matt in trouble, the assistant principal tells him that if he can make friends with Tommy and lead the anti-bullying campaign for 30 days, he can be reinstated in his extra-curricular activities. Tommy is not interested at first, but when he is selected for a television teen cooking show competition and needs teammates to try for the $50,000 prize, he grudgingly accepts Matt’s help.

Meanwhile, the young, arrogant landlord who owns the pizzeria’s lease wants to get her out. Tommy’s brother Kyle is given the assignment of making sure she cannot exercise her option to buy the property.

The young actors sometimes struggle with the material and the face-slaps from the all-female opposing team are unfortunate. But the script is absorbing, with some unexpected twists, appealing characters (I especially liked the grandmother and the pretty blogger), and real insights into the origins of bullying and its impact on the bully as well as the victim.

Parents should know that this film concern bullying and includes some rough talk.

Family discussion: Why do people become bullies? How are the teens in this story like the adults around them? What does Tommy mean about “flipping the switch?” What changes Matt’s mind?

If you like this, try: “Mean Girls”

Related Tags:

High School School Stories about Teens

Black Nativity

Posted on November 26, 2013 at 5:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for thematic material, language, and a menacing situation
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	References to substance abuse
Violence/ Scariness:	Teenager threatens someone with a gun, references to violence
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	November 27, 2013

The poet Langston Hughes wrote a play called “Black Nativity,” a joyous African-American retelling of the story of the birth of Jesus with gospel music, and it has become a holiday perennial. Now it has been adapted by writer/director Kasi Lemmons (“Eve’s Bayou”) with a framing present-day story of a prodigal daughter, estranged from her parents for 16 years, brought back home at Christmas as “Black Nativity” is being performed in her father’s church.

Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson plays Naima, a single mother in Baltimore who has lost her job and is trying everything she can think of to keep her home. But even with two jobs, she and her 15-year-old son Langston (17-year-old Jacob Latimore), named for the poet, are about to be evicted. Niama has no other options left. She puts Langston on a bus to New York to see the grandparents he has never met, knowing nothing about them or the cause of their estrangement.

Langston is hurt, lost, and angry. He is frustrated that he cannot do more to help his mother and determined to find a way to get her the money she needs to keep their home. Things go badly when his bag is taken by a kid as soon as he gets off the bus and he is arrested trying to return a man’s wallet because the police think he is trying to steal it. In jail, he meets Loot (Tyrese Gibson), who jeeringly calls him “Lunch Money” and makes Langston feel powerless and disrespected.

His grandfather, Reverend Cornell Cobbs (Forest Whitaker), is formal and reserved. His grandmother, Aretha (Angela Bassett) is affectionate but clearly in pain over the past and afraid of being hurt again. Langston will do anything to feel that he is taking control of what is happening to him so he can return home.

Impressionistically told, with songs that serve as monologues, the movie becomes more powerful when Cornell’s church stages a gorgeous production of “Black Nativity” and Langston nods off to have a gospel-inspired dream that features Nas and, as an angel with white hair sticking up like a dandelion ready to make a wish, Mary J. Blige. When Langston sneaks out of the service in a desperate attempt to get the money, it leads to a confrontation revealing in ways he could not anticipate. The concluding scenes of redemption and reunion are tender and transcendent.

Parents should know that the storyline concerns foreclosure and eviction, family estrangement, law-breaking, teen pregnancy, and abandonment. A teenager uses a gun.

Family discussion: Why didn’t Langston’s family want to tell him the truth? What did the watch symbolize to Cornell? What did we learn from Langston’s dream?

If you like this, try: the poetry of Langston Hughes