The Other Woman

MY RATING: GOOD ONE-TIME CATCH

Revenge is sweet, yes. The Other Woman, at first glance, is like any other chick flick with the usual relationship drama, over-the-top characters, slapstick humour and and of course alcoholism. However, what I enjoy about this movie is that it deviates from the cliché of finding romance to instead, finding revenge. One can't help but feel good when revenge is served. 

The plot of the movie is very straightforward. 3 women plan to seek revenge on a guy who has cheated on them all. Each of the three main female characters have their own unique personality and I really like how the dynamics work between the three of them - the lawyer, the wife and the boobs - as it is mentioned in the film. 

Being a comedy, I felt that the film hit the right notes in ensuring that the audience sustain their laughter from start to finish. I was surprised to find myself laughing so hard at times. The film may not have the wittiest of humour but I still enjoyed the slapstick gags regardless of how shallow or retarded they may seem. There were also several emotional issues to address in the film and I am glad that they kept them sweet and not turn them into an emotional drag that does not fit into the tone of the film.

In all, if you looking for a good time with your friends and to leave the cinema with a good laugh, The Other Woman would be the movie for you.

Noah

MY RATING: GOOD ONE-TIME CATCH

Hollywood once again attempts to adapt the bible for the silver screen with the story of Noah. Noah is unlike the colourful and hopeful story told by children's books but a more realistic yet artistic take on the Book of Genesis. Director Darren Aronofsky brought in a sense of realism to the film, showing us first hand how wicked and cruel the world used to be that "The Creator" had to destroy everything. 

The film opens up with a disclaimer saying: 

“The film is inspired by the story of Noah. While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide. The biblical story of Noah can be found in the Book of Genesis.”

This statement sent us a clear message that the story is going to be considerably different from the biblical version and indeed it was, with the addition of new details and characters as well as the unique interpretation of the "Fallen Angels". Despite that, I do feel that the film (in some way) still managed to bring across the essence of new life, the values of faith and goodness that it promised and maintain the general idea of the story. 

What I like about Noah is that I managed to step into the shoes of many of the characters and comprehend their feelings and emotions. We also get to see the dark side of human nature which is truly disturbing but not entirely surprising for we are indeed self-centred people in a dog-eat-dog world. We learn that Noah is actually not the perfect figure we always perceived him to be but a conflicted person who did not understand the true intentions of "The Creator", just like anyone else would be. Another thing I have to give credit to Aronofsky is his rather convincing attempt in marrying the concept of Creationism and Darwinism in a visual spectacle explaining how the world began.  

I really like the cast of Noah as they are each incredibly talented in their individual roles. Russell Crowe, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins - They all delivered an amazing performance that made you connect well to their characters 

Hollywood adaptations of biblical stories, however, will continuously be bombarded with controversy and criticism due to its divergence and inaccuracies. It is an unavoidable situation as film-makers have to make changes to the original in order to obtain as much revenue for it is in their agenda, especially for a film with such a huge budget. 

Noah, in my opinion, is an interesting and thrilling film. It was a good, scary take on the biblical story and it is very emotional as well. I am giving it a "Good One-Time Catch" for despite the thrill, it is not a film I have the strong urge to watch again.

Divergent

MY RATING: GOOD ONE-TIME CATCH

From the companies that brought you films from the disappointing Twilight Saga to the widely acclaimed Hunger Games Saga comes a new franchise based on a trilogy written by Veronica Roth. For starters, I felt that the movie was quite enjoyable despite the fact it was not everything I hoped it would be. It clearly could not compete with the likes of the Hunger Games films but I still felt  it was a good attempt at adapting Roth's thick, plot-heavy book for the big screen. 

Divergent is set in the dystopian future where people are categorised into five different factions based on their personality. Every 16-year old has to take an aptitude test to determine which faction they are best suited for, and eventually make their decision during the Choosing Ceremony. However, Beatrice Prior, born in Abnegation, found out that she possess qualities of more than one faction, making her "Divergent". Divergents are hunted in the society and thus we see her cope in the faction she eventually chooses, Dauntless, and struggle to keep her divergence a secret.

Every film has its good and bad and in this case I felt it was split quite equally. I felt that the story was well-paced but choppy at times,  and that the climax of the film was good but not impactful enough. The actors played their characters pretty well but I hoped there was actually better character development, especially for the supporting characters. However, I do like the action scenes in the film and the training sequences that changed Beatrice into a strong, confident and brave member of Dauntless.

Like I've mentioned earlier, the weakness of this film is probably the fact that it was unable to condense Veronica Roth's novel well enough for the story to appear smooth. There were many elements and characters in the book that the film failed to allude to and character development storyline appeared to have segments cut out. The relationship build-up between the two main characters also felt as if it skipped a few steps. 

Divergent isn't a great film, but it wasn't a bad film either. If you walk into the theatre hoping it would be like the Hunger Games films, I am pretty sure you would be deeply disappointed. But if you are looking for a good fantasy action film, Divergent would be what I could recommend.