Young Adult – Page 2 – Matthew Liedke on Film

Paper Towns review

Director:
Jake Schreier
Cast:
Nat Wolff
Cara Delevingne
Austin Abrams
Justice Smith
Halston Sage
Rated: PG-13

In “Paper Towns,” Nat Wolff plays Quentin, a high school student who is nearing the end of his senior year. As he goes through with his day-to-day routine of going to school, he still hopes to reconnect with his childhood friend Margo (Delevigne), a girl next door who has become one of the popular kids.

Quentin eventually gets his chance to spend time with Margo, who invites him out for a night of mischief. To his surprise, though, the next day Quentin finds out that Margo has gone off the grid and has seemingly disappeared. The vanishing sets Quentin, with the help of his friends, off on a road trip/adventure to find clues as to where Margo is.

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Unfriended review

Director
Levan Gabriadze
Cast:
Heather Sossaman
Matthew Bohrer
Courtney Halverson
Shelley Hennig
Moses Jacob Storm
Will Peltz
Renee Olstead
Rated: R

A group of high school friends decide to hang out on a Skype chat in “Unfriended,” a movie that completely takes place on a computer screen. It seems like a fairly average night for the group until an unidentified person joins their Skype chat.

The group soon begins to believe that the unidentified person is actually their friend who committed suicide after a series of extreme cyber bullying.

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Insurgent review

Director:
Robert Schwentke
Cast:
Kate Winslet
Shailene Woodley
Theo James
Miles Teller
Rated: PG-13

I certainly wasn’t expecting the second movie in the “Divergent” series to be a chore to sit through, but it was.

In the sequel to last year’s mediocre “Divergent,” “Insurgent” picks up not long after the first film ended. Tris, played by Shailene Woodley, and Four, played by Theo James, are on the run from the main factions of the city and are seeking out any kind of shelter.

Unfortunately, they have to stay on the run through many parts of the film. This problem increases when Jeanine, played by Kate Winslet, decides to search for Tris as she may be the one who can unlock secrets of the city.

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 review

Director:
Francis Lawrence
Cast:
Jennifer Lawrence
Josh Hutcherson
Liam Hemsworth
Woody Harrelson
Donald Sutherland
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Julianne Moore
Rated: PG-13

The odds will certainly be in this movie’s favor at the box office this weekend.
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” is the first in a two-part finale for the whole book- based movie series. The film picks up not long after the events of the previous installment, “Catching Fire” with Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, taken to the mysterious District 13.

District 13 is the home of the rebellion against the oppressive rule of the Capitol of Panem. Upon her arrival, Katniss meets the President of District 13, Alma Coin, played by Julianne Moore. Katniss soon learns that the District wants her to be the face and symbol of the rebellion.

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The Giver review

Director:
Phillip Noyce
Cast:
Jeff Bridges
Meryl Streep
Brenton Thwaites
Odeya Rush
Rated: PG-13

Based on a 1993 novel of the same name, “The Giver” follows the story of Jonas (Thwaites), a young man living in a society with no war, pain or suffering. This is made possible because there is no emotion or feeling. On the day when he finds out what he will do for a career in the dystopian future, Jonas learns that he will discover the history of his people from The Giver (Bridges).

As Jonas begins to learn from The Giver, he discovers emotion and passion in life, and he looks to share it with those around him. This is forbidden, though, and he becomes a target of the Chief Elder of the community (Streep).

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Shailene Woodley plays a teen named Hazel,suffering from cancer and also a limited social life. This changes, though when she meets another teen named Gus who has to deal with cancer during a support group meeting.

The two start a friendship that eventually leads to a romance which takes both of them on an emotional journey.

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire review

If you liked “The Hunger Games,” then you will love “Catching Fire” because it is an improvement over the first one in nearly every way.

The film picks up not long after the first movie. Both Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, and Peeta Mellark, played by Josh Hutcherson, are on a victory tour after winning the Hunger Games. Although it is all smiles on the outside, inside, both characters are conflicted.

Katniss is troubled both by post traumatic stress disorder from the first games along with the fact that her relationship with Peeta is actually fake. She has feelings for the character Gale Hawthorne, played by Liam Hemsworth. Peeta is troubled by the same fact that the relationship doesn’t exist.

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Ender’s Game review

Director:
Gavin Hood
Cast:
Asa Butterfield
Harrison Ford
Ben Kingsley
Viola Davis
Rated: PG-13

No, I have not read the book. Moving on.

The story of “Ender’s Game” follows the title character, Ender (Butterfield), who is a young genius who the world government wants to lead its star fleet into battle. Said battle would be against an alien race that unsuccessfully invaded Earth decades ago.

As Ender trains, he learns more about himself, how the military operates, the hierarchy with other cadets and soldiers and even learns about the enemy itself.

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Carrie review

Director:
Kimberly Peirce
Cast:
Julianne Moore
Chloe Grace Moretz
Gabriella Wilde
Chris Hargensen
Ansel Elgort
Judy Greer
Rated: R

Chloe Grace Moretz seems to always play characters with a kill count. “Kick-Ass,” “Let Me In” and now “Carrie.”

The film is an adaption of the Stephen King novel of the same name, which was also made into a movie in 1976 by Director Brian De Palma. The story resolves around the title character, Carrie White (Moretz), a shy girl who lives with only her mother, a religious fanatic named Margaret (Moore) who more or less has lost her mind.

After an incident where Carrie is tormented by her peers, mainly by the character Chris (Portia Doubleday), she begins to learn that she possess telekinesis, or the power to move objects using the mind.

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The Mortal Instruments review

Director:
Harald Zwart
Cast:
Lily Collins
Jamie Campbell Bower
Kevin Zegers
Robert Sheehan
Rated: PG-13

One might notice similarities with other movies and books when viewing “The Mortal Instruments” as it tends to rip off more than a few things.

The film follows Clary (Collins), a teen who lives in New York City with her mother. One day, while hanging out with her friend Simon (Sheehan), she witnesses a murder, however, the being that was killed was actually a demon.

The murderer turns out to be a man named Jace (Bower) who hunts demons. It turns out that Clary has the same abilities as Jace does allowing her to hunt demons too. Upon learning this, Clary’s mother is kidnapped and she now has to rely on Jace and his team to track down the culprit and discover who she really is.

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