Insurgent (2015) Film Review

Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) are in hiding after thwarting the effort of Jeanine (Kate Winslet). They make their way back to the big city, and they have the option of hooking up with another group of rebels. Things get a lot confusing along the way, but there is a box. It opens up if a divergent does a strange challenge type thing. But, no matter how many divergents Jeanine hooks up, they all just keep dying. It’s a real shame. Of course, it has to be Tris who unlocks it. But it is not what they expect… oh, where to next, dystopian future?

I liked it, a lot more than the last couple of Hunger Games films. And I liked the end a lot. I’m interested in seeing more, I want to know where it is all going. I reckon that makes it a somewhat decent flick. But I’m not shouting its greatness from the rooftops, perhaps I’m just a bit over this genre?

 

Clockers (1995) Film Review

Strike (Mekhi Phifer) is a drug dealer in Brooklyn, working in the projects. He suffers from chronic stomach pain, possibly an ulcer, possibly just stress from his situation. When his boss, Rodney (Delroy Lindo) tells him he needs to step up to stop a rival dealer taking his territory by killing him, Strike confides in his straight-laced brother. The dealer is killed, but it is not clear who the murderer is.

The film tells a great story, but since the gritty realism of The Wire, it does feel quite dated and almost a bit sanitized. But it is this and other films by Spike Lee that have allowed things like The Wire to be created.