Nerd in the 'Noke

Divergent (2014), PG-13, 139 minutes - I was a little late to the party when it came to reading the Divergent series written by Veronica Roth.  I started the trilogy last fall just before the third book (Allegiant) was released.  Despite that, I have been eagerly awaiting this movie as I tore through all three installments quicker than anything since I had read Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy.  Most likely because they are both considered part of the Young Adult genre. Hey, I'm not a fast reader...sue me.  In any event, I was very interested in seeing how this tale based in a dystopian future Chicago would be adapted.  As far as I'm concerned, they did a pretty good job. A great war has taken place.  In its aftermath the survivors of Chicago have fenced the remains of the city off from the wasteland left beyond.  Chicago's inhabitants have split into five factions (Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite), with each faction pr...

Compiling this list each year is more difficult than one would think.  Obviously it can only be made of films that are already known to be coming out by the general public.  I'd like to think that the films on my list below will be pretty good, but who knows?  There may be much better films released in 2014.  In any event, these are the ones that have me the most excited here at the beginning of the year: Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order): The Amazing Spider-Man 2 , Dumb and Dumber To , Godzilla , Gone Girl , How to Train Your Dragon 2 , Mr. Peabody & Sherman , Sin City: A Dame to Kill For , Transformers: Age of Extinction . 10) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (July 18)  - Some of my earliest movie memories from my childhood are of watching the old Planet of the Apes films with my dad.  2011's 'reboot' (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) was a prequel to the previously made films, and set in the same continuity.  This follow up looks to ...

Divergent is based on the young adult novel of the same name by author Veronica Roth.  It is the first segment of a trilogy that just ended with the release of Allegiant a couple of weeks ago (the middle segment is called Insurgent).  A former co-worker of mine first mentioned it to me a year or so ago and with a little motivation from this initial trailer, I finally read it a couple of weeks ago. Taking place in Chicago sometime in the future, society is now split into five factions (Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite).  Every citizen fits into one of these factions, determined by their aptitude for the traits each faction holds dear.  Divergent follows Tris Prior, a teenage girl who is about to make the biggest decision of her life (whether she will devote her life to her born faction - Abnegation - or attempt to pass the trials to become part of another faction).   If a citizen chooses to switch factions and does not pass the initiation, th...