Date: Saturday January 25 2020
Time: 11:15am
Party: 3 (my mom, sister and I)
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Writers: Stephen Gaghan, Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, Chris McCay, Thomas Shepherd
Composer: Danny Elfman
Cast:
(humans)
Dr. John Dolittle- Robert Downey Jr.
Stubbins- Harry Collett
Lady Rose- Carmel Laniado
Queen Victoria- Jessie Buckley
Dr. Blair Müdfly- Michael Sheen
Lord Thomas Badgely- Jim Broadbent
King Rassouli- Antonio Banderas
(animals)
Polly the macaw- Emma Thompson
Chee-Chee the gorilla- Rami Malek
Yoshi the polar bear- John Cena
Plimpton the ostrich- Kumail Nanjiani
Dab-Dab the duck- Octavia Spencer
Jip the dog- Tom Holland
Kevin the squirrel- Craig Robinson
Barry the tiger- Ralph Fiennes
James the dragonfly- Jason Mantzoukas
The Dragon (yeah, there is a dragon)- Frances De La Tour
Duration: 101 minutes (+6 trailers)
Write-up:
Opening Comments
Ok, first of all... this movie has already gotten so much dumped on from critics... one in our local paper actually gave it 0 stars. Out of 4 stars, I might give it 2.5. It's not an Oscar-worthy movie, but I had fun with it. And it isn't just because RDJ is a part of it. It was just a fun fantastical movie and the cast of actors they had to voice the characters- they were all great. The visuals were dazzling. They pulled me in and after a certain point, the movie just ran by so fast that it was suddenly over.
It was a decent crowd in the theater. A lot of kids. And they were laughing along with the movie and a couple times were clapping. So it definitely won over the target audience in our theater. Robert and his wife, Susan, were saying in interviews that it was the first premiere they could take their kids to because it's appropriate for their age. Exton was born in 2012 and I think Avri was a year or so after that. But the fact kids have been enjoying this movie is a good sign. Heck, what they lose out on in theater sales, they might make up in DVD sales or streams.
Trailers
To the theater's credit, they didn't overdo it with commercials or trailers this time around. There were only 6 and they only ran for about 17 minutes.
Let's see...
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway
I swear when they advertised this last, the whole story was about Peter meeting the Fierce Bad Rabbit. Now apparently it's about the animals leaving Mr. McGregor's place and a couple get kidnapped and they all need to get them back. I'm not a fan of what they did with this story I grew up with, but this movie looks a bit better than the original one did in the trailers.
I still believe
Not sure if whose life this was based on, but there's a musician who falls in love with a girl and she gets cancer and Shania Twain is in the cast... It looks really good, but maybe a tearjerker. Depending on whether it's another of those spiritual movies they typically release around Easter
Sonic the Hedgehog
Omg... I mean, they tried their best with this trailer, but considering this movie was delayed for a year because YouTube comments were freaking out about the fact Sonic's teeth were "too human"... this is already doomed before it hits theaters. The humor is too try-hard and over the top. And why is it when video game characters come into our world that the fate of the world is at stake? We've seriously run out of ideas.
In the Heights
I'm not quite sure what this movie is about, but it's a musical that takes place in a very colorful neighborhood. It has the same director as "Crazy Rich Asians" and Lin-Manuel Miranda (the guy behind "Hamilton") is involved too. But it looked pretty impressive.
Emma
Why do they feel compelled to make this movie again? Gwyneth Paltrow did it in the 1995. They did Clueless, a modern adaptation in 1995. There's no need to do this again. And none of the names in the cast are big names, so why even bother?
Trolls World Tour
I've seen this trailer so many times... I don't need to add anything...
The Main Event
First, the story... we have an animated flashbacks (really good drawings of the characters, by the way, very realistic) about the Dolittles and their back story. They went around the world saving animals from imprisonment and hardship. It ends with his wife dying in a shipwreck and he becomes a reclusive as a result of the devastation.
The boy, Stubbins, comes from a hunting family and when he misfires to avoid shooting ducks, he actually shoots a squirrel. Polly the parrot takes him to Dolittle's place and after much ado, he does get him treated and save his life. The same day he shows up, one of the royal attendants, Lady Rose, shows up at the estate, saying that the Queen (who had gifted the Dolittles with the estate in the first place) has fallen ill and needs his help.
So begins the voyage where Dolittle, Stubbins (who decides he wants to be his apprentice) and a bunch of his animal friends sail to find the antidote for her sickness. Oh, and there's the fact the Queen's illness falls under the category of suspicious and they have parts of the British royal entourage to deal with on the journey.
Anyone who had seen Robert as Sherlock Holmes will have a fair idea of how he's going to play this character: very eccentric and imaginative. And of course he does an accent on top of that. He was a guest star on Ellen where he said that Welsh is the hardest accent and she asked him "why do you do that to yourself?" He has a really good ear for accents, especially when Andrew Jack is his dialect coach, but he changed the accents for two roles (Natural Born Killers and Tropic Thunder) from Irish to Australian because he couldn't do an Irish accent.
The fact he'd been shut up in her since his wife died... yeah, it kinda makes sense that he let himself go a bit. And it's bizarre when you see him talking in animal speak before they transition to him and the animals speaking English so we can understand. It does start a little strange, but it does get better from there. The only other moments I didn't care for was when they opted for bathroom humor to get some cheap laughs. It's only a couple scenes, but it's like "did they REALLY have to go there?"
One of the biggest story arcs with the animals is Chee-Chee the gorilla. He's a bit of a coward, but in some pivotal moments, he finds his courage and it's a great moment when he does. Polly is the voice of reason, kinda the motherly figure in the group, so she's pretty great. The dynamic between Yoshi and Plimpton, it's a little strange, but it makes for some entertaining moments. A lot of the animals were used in creative ways. One involved a stick insect.
Kevin the Squirrel... even though Stubbins brought him to get treated, he's paranoid the whole movie that he hasn't finished with him. His commentary is pretty silly.
The fact Stubbins was learning how to talk to the animals... I'm not quite sure if I believe that. In the Eddie Murphy version, it was a gift he was born with. According to this version, you can learn it from books... unless those were books Dolittle wrote himself.
Michael Sheen play an interesting character. A little vain and neurotic. He and Dolittle went to school together, so he's jealous of his accomplishments and is excited at the opportunities to one-up him. But he does have some great comical moments too. He always plays a good baddie.
(There's also a post-credits scene of him-- right after all the portraits go on the wall and the main cast are listed-- so be sure to stick around for that. It's kinda funny)
Antonio Banderas rules one of the places they stop and he's Lily Dolittle's father, so there's a little tension involved with him, but also a lot of twists. The funny thing is that I didn't realize it was him until the credits. His voice is so iconic (omg, he's only Puss in Boots from Shrek), but he just looked so scruffy that he was unrecognizable.
It's a happy ending, that's all I'll really go into.
But overall, I'd have to say that it's the kind of movie where, if you suspend your disbelief and get lost in the visual effects and the characters... you'll have a good time.
Would I buy it on DVD? I don't know... I'd probably watch it a bunch of times on HBO whenever it gets there. Robert was tapped to do "Oz, The Great and Powerful," but I think he turned it down because he didn't get the freedom to improvise. This was a far better movie than that was. I pair them together, only because they favor visual effects more than a deep storyline.
It was definitely great to be back at the movies for another Downey flick. Something outside of the Marvel universe for a change. And honestly, I was so caught up in his characterization that I kinda saw the character more than him. When he does his best work, he really disappears into his characters.
It just kinda sucks that his movies are so few and far between. Once a year if I'm lucky... he's rumored to appear in the new Black Widow movie, which takes place in some other time period before Endgame. But I'm planning to see that just because they are finally doing a Black Widow movie after years of people begging for one. And of course Sherlock 3 will be next Christmas... after all the time waiting after Sherlock 2 (I hadn't seen that movie since I saw the DVD commentary with him... I didn't like it that much), it better be a good sequel. That's all I'll say on that.
For now... I'll give it...
Grade: B+
Date: Sunday, March 20, 2016
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Time: 1:40pm
Party: 3 (my mom & aunt who introduced us to the trilogy)
Director: Robert Schwentke
Duration: 121 minutes (+3 trailers)
Cast:
Tris Prior- Shailene Woodley
Four/Tobias Eaton- Theo James
Caleb Prior- Ansel Elgort
Peter- Miles Teller
Evelyn Eaton- Naomi Watts
Joanna, leader of Amity- Octavia Spencer
Tori- Maggie Q
Christina- Zoe Kravitz
Edgar/Edward- Jonny Weston
David- Jeff Daniels
Matthew: Bill Skarsgard
Audience and Previews:
The movie only made $29.1 this weekend?
What happened to the following this book series had with the first two movies?
We were only among a dozen people in the theater. Not even.
And it felt like they had ten minutes of commercials and one fake trailer (it was for Chevy) before getting on with it... seriously, I don't come to the movies early for the same commercials I can see in my own freaking house!
Three trailers. None of which were for "Batman vs. Superman" (thank God!)
The Ghostbusters reboot- it's probably not going to live up to all the hype and might be stupid. But I still think I want to go and see it. Kate McKinnon might have found a role that works for her- at least in my mind. [She doesn't exactly impersonate a lot of people I like on SNL].
X-Men: Apocalypse- the only X-men movie I ever saw in theaters was the origin movie for Wolverine. Enjoyed it with my college friends, but I hadn't seen it since.
But considering Oscar Isaac plays the villain, I might be compelled to go.
At first, I thought the last trailer for the Jungle Book... but instead it was for a new live action Tarzan called "The Legend of Tarzan."
Christophe Waltz we recognized right away. I thought maybe he'd be Clayton, but instead he's someone called Captain Rom. Who may/may not be the bad guy.
Margot Robbie (she's in a bunch of movies this year, including "Suicide Squad" where she plays Harley Quinn... they're really pushed her as the next big thing) plays Jane. And Tarzan is played by, who my mom, dad and aunts affectionately know as Eric from "True Blood," Alexander Skarsgard and he is CUT.
Should be interesting, but at the same time, I'm still pissed that Kellan Lutz (Emmett from "Twilight") was talking about how he was going to play Tarzan and that movie never got any hype-- maybe because it was ANIMATED? WTF, he has the perfect physique to play Tarzan. How could they just screw him over like that?
You'd think they don't want any "Twilight" actors to be successful... except Anna Kendrick. She's doing amazing and I love her.
Opening Remarks and Synopsis:
for my reviews of the last two films, visit the links below:
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2014/03/theatrical-review-divergent.html
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2015/03/theatrical-review-insurgent.html
It'd been a couple years since I read the book so I can't exactly do my whole book vs. movie discussion. Perhaps another time I'll go through this and "Insurgent" and go into further detail down the road.
Going by my memory of the book alone, this is what happens:
And course... SPOILERSAt the end of "Insurgent," Tris unlocked a box placed in the city by its Founders. It contained a message basically saying that if you're seeing this, you have one Divergent and the experiment of the city succeeded.
Tris, Four and a bunch of their comrades will go past the wall to see who is waiting for them on the other side. And it's a situation similar the allegory of Plato's "The Cave" as told through "The Truman Show"... although at the end of The Truman Show, we don't see what happens to him after he breaks through the literal 4th wall.
It's a bit of a disorienting experience for everyone- not only finding out that all these people outside the wall know who they are because they spent years watching them grow up on TV, but learning that you were all part of experiment.
Not to mention Four believing he and Tris were equal because they were both Divergents... and for whatever reason, the leader of this experiment, David, says that Tris is the only true Divergent from the city and everyone is "Genetically Damaged."
Much of the book for me got bogged down by technical talk. I'm a math/science person who took classes like Physics and Calculus, so I understand a lot of that stuff. But being heavy-handed with all that jargon took away from the book's enjoyment. I'd rather just spend time with our main characters and seeing how they deal with it.
And of course the one thing I remember most was the ending and how it pretty much destroyed me.
And considering this book is being idiotically (and greedily) split into the two movies, to me, it's like the first movie will be running me through with a knife and the second is twisting said knife.
Discussion:
By the end of the movie, it was starting to feel more like 1984 than The Truman Show. In that David was Big Brother... the creepy level reached a whole new level.
On the plus side, the technical talk was toned down.
And it wasn't nearly as dark and helpless as it seemed in Mockingjay.
The CGI and visuals were fantastic. I got swept up in it and I was in the realm of the movie for the long haul.
A few times throughout the movie, my mom and aunt whispered about stuff about not being what it seems. I wanted to believe the lie until it became absolutely clear and the tide of action completely turns.
I wrote in my "Divergent" review how the movie was like experiencing everything through Tris's eyes. We feel as she does and go through the same things on an emotional journey. Until she started to realize the truth, I wasn't ready for it.
I guess I really do love her more than Katniss. I mean, Katniss is bad-ass, but I don't know. There's a certain intensity about her that maybe I have a hard time latching onto where I feel like I was in her shoes.
For the record, I referred to the factionless guy as Edward in my class list because I am convinced that Edgar was meant to be that character in the book. Edward was the top member of the Dauntless transfer class until Peter attacked him in the night and forced him out.
That guy was really obnoxious to deal with because he just kept coming.
Peter started as everyone (well, maybe almost everyone's) most hated character. Now he's despicable and self-serving, but there's a comic relief aspect to him. The few people in the theater laughed a few of his lines.
All of the downturns he experiences is good karma for how terrible he was in the first movie. Can't wait for him to get some humility in the final installment, but it's almost more than he deserves.
Kinda like the deal Tobias's father Marcus got... I still think they should have killed him. Peter, maybe not, but Marcus Eaton- absolutely. Freaking child abuser- reading the book dedicated to Four made me hate him all that much more.
I don't remember how much of a role Joanna had in the book, but it was cool seeing Octavia Spencer as one of the voices of reason in the city. Even if that voice wasn't heard. "Allegient" is the name adopted by Joanna and her followers. I guess they're the people who want to stand outside the faction system. Opposed to Four's mom, who allows the traitors to be executed and wanted to keep everyone inside the city.
In the back of my mind, I was worried about where the movie would leave off. I kept hoping that everything would happen and we wouldn't have to deal with the knife-twisting agony of the final installment.
Thankfully, it was a satisfying ending. The business with David isn't quite finished, but for now, the good guys have won their latest battle.
I have no idea how much of the book we have yet to go through. How much is from the book and how much was manufactured just to get another two hour movie?
There's a whole other year to wait for it, but I still have a lot of books yet to get through. Chances are I'm going to read through all of them again after the final movie. I thought maybe I'd do that after we saw the final Mockingjay movie. That was such a letdown after all that- it'll be awhile before I have any desire to read those again.
Maybe the one negative... it's a race against time in the final minutes of the movie to stop a memory serum from taking over the town... the stuff was in the air long enough where it technically should have already worked. It stretches the confines of realness a bit too much.
And Tris and Four have very little screen time together. So I guess what I'm saying is that they better have a sex scene or something in the final movie.
The book was written from both of their perspectives and the movie captured that really well.
Grade: A
Date: Sunday, March 22, 2015
Location: Pocono Movieplex
Time: 1:15pm
Party: 3 (my mom & aunt who introduced us to the trilogy)
Director: Robert Schwentke
Duration: 119 minutes (+ 4 trailers)
Cast:
Tris Prior- Shailene Woodley
Four/Tobias Eaton- Theo James
Caleb Prior- Ansel Elgort
Peter- Miles Teller
Jeanine- Kate Winslet
Evelyn Eaton- Naomi Watts
Joanna, leader of Amity- Octavia Spencer
Jack Kang, leader of Candor- Daniel Dae Kim
Eric- Jai Courtney
Tori- Maggie Q
Uriah- Keiynan Lonsdale
Christina- Zoe Kravitz
Marcus Eaton- Ray Stevenson
Opening Comments and Previews:
The theater was almost empty when we arrived. By the time the movie started, more people were still coming in. Among them were a family with half a dozen kids... even then, it boggles my mind that people can still be late to the beginning of a movie.
At this point, I expected an "Avengers" trailer... no such luck... but I'll still wait for it to come to me before I go deliberately searching for it. [I want that shock & awe to be genuine].
1) Tomorrowland
- a more in-depth trailer than we got the previous time ["Into the Woods"]. And it would seem George will get a lot of screen time, playing a character very different than his usual. We also caught a few glimpses of Hugh Laurie [who may/may not be the villain]. The special effects scenery does look pretty amazing, although it looked a little too much like The Capitol from "The Hunger Games"... or one of the cities shown in "Guardians of the Galaxy".. either way, everyone seems to think the future looks the same.
...still waiting on those flying cars, guys!
2) Pixels
-supposedly the time capsule we projected into space in the 80's where we professed peace... it was misinterpreted... and aliens have sent down giant replicas of vintage video game characters to destroy us. We're talking Pac-Man, Galaga, Centipede, Donkey Kong, etc. Even though it stars Adam Sandler and Kevin James, not known for making the best movies, I can only think "Let the Nerdgasm Commence!" It looked amazing! :P
3) Paper Towns
- I swear, this was trending on Twitter not even a day ago... supposedly the trailer had just been released. And what a better place for John Green's next book-to-movie adaption than during a Shailene Woodley movie. [It did wonders for "The Fault in Our Stars," which she was amazing in, by the way]. It looks like such a great young adult story based on the trailer, but I've got a bad feeling I won't be able to find the book on a shelf for a while.
4) Mockingjay: Part 2
- It was practically the same teaser trailer they showed for the previous two films... they just did more with the Mockingjay logo and added more dialogue... November is just too long a wait, especially with the previous ending. [I should stop here before my mind starts spewing more ill will towards Peeta... NOT his biggest fan in that book]
Write-up:
[I started my "Divergent" review the same way]
http://moviegoerconfessions.blogspot.com/2014/03/theatrical-review-divergent.html
As of writing this review, Insurgent has earned $54 million in its opening weekend. ["Divergent" made $56M]Unlike my previous book-to-movie entries, I won't be going too much into how good the adaptation was. Even though I read this book only a year ago, I have very little memory of it. So I was practically like any movie-goer who hadn't read the source material...
Save for the fact I already knew the characters, of course.
[I will also continue on assuming the audience is already familiar with this series, either from reading the books or seeing the previous movie]
There be Spoilers Afoot...
The movie starts out very disorienting... as can be expected given the circumstances.
The faction of Abnegation has been decimated by Jeanine's covert operation with the leaders of Dauntless. Only now, the operation is rumored to be the work of Divergents, rebels and their sympathizers. We also learn that the attack of Abnegation wasn't just about uncovering their supposed corruption... it was about locating an object...
This box becomes a major piece of this film's plot. Within in it is a message from the Founders of the city and only a Divergent who can pass the simulations from all five factions will be able to open it.
When we last left our heroes, Tris Prior and Four, they were on the run, along with her brother Caleb and fellow Dauntless, Peter. They are currently lying low in the faction of Amity, which promotes peace and kindness. Tensions are still high between Tris and Peter, so obviously, not all goes according to plan.
The disorientation comes in from multiple factors.
Firstly, in the first scene with Tris, it starts out like a rather normal introduction. But it quickly accelerates when the blood on her hands becomes visible. When I saw Christina and Will [her parents came later], I knew then that it couldn't be real. Several dream sequences follow... or should I just call them Tris's nightmares?
Secondly because the heroes spend a lot of this movie on the run from Jeanine's forces to the various other factions. Out of nowhere, there'd be explosions or shots fired. Nowhere appears to be safe... with the exception of the bunker where the Factionless stay. Nothing even came there, but there were still plenty of fireworks.
Thirdly... we have more simulations [something that was a big part of Tris's Dauntless initiation in the previous film]...
I wouldn't go as far to say the disorientation is a bad thing. I'm sure some people might find it a little off-putting that things are so unstable. That there really isn't a concrete storyline for a good portion of the film. But it does keep you on your toes. Among all the YA book-to-movie adaptations, "Insurgent" is easily the best example of an action film I'd ever seen.
Some people might also find it off-putting that the movie relies a little much on special effects to sell itself. Anyone's entitled to that opinion. That being said, the effects are AMAZING. Even more impressive than in "Divergent." You can easily see why a 3D version was also released in theaters. I'm just not sure if I'd recommend it because the realism is far too believable. There was a point in a simulation where Tris fell thousands of feet and I felt my stomach drop like I was on that rollercoaster myself. I also had a couple moments where I cried out in shock or surprise because things were happening so fast. But that's part of the thrill.
It should also be important to note that the movie has a lot of heart to it as well. The chemistry between Tris and Four doesn't get nearly as much screen time, given the circumstances. But we get to see her grow even more as a person through these circumstances. She's still, understandably, dealing with the loss of her parents and blaming herself for the things that went wrong.
Octavia Spencer doesn't get a lot of screen time as Joanna- the leader of Amity- but she has some thoughtful advice for Tris. About not blaming herself for what happened and trying to forgive herself. A nice warm spot in a film that has a lot of darkness. Another highlight, easily, is Daniel Dae Kim as Jack Kang- leader of Candor. It took me a little while to recognize him [I only saw a couple episodes of "Lost" and spent the reminder of its run wanting it to end badly... and I got my wish... seriously, you can only drag that kind of series out for so long].
I don't know what it was, but I liked his screen presence. His character commanded a lot of respect without coming off ridiculously intimidating. He was fair and honest... although maybe not as fair to Tris when she had to endure the truth serum.
Whenever Shailene Woodley breaks down and cries, it's gut-wrenching. She does it so naturally and so well. Here, she was forced to come clean about Will's death and how she caused it. It bordered on excruciating [not to the point where it was unwatchable, mind you] because she had so much regret and also didn't want to lose Christina's friendship over it.
...that was one of the book's negatives for me. Christina spent so much time mad at her even though it was done out of self-defense. Thankfully, the film didn't prolong it quite as much.
We get a little more back story for Four when we find out that his mother is still alive, leading the Factionless. The tension is definitely there and very convincing coming from Theo James. But there's still much more to learn about Four that hasn't been explored yet (there's a book dedicated to him, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet).
I wouldn't necessarily consider myself a violent person, but I had moments throughout this movie when I was cheering for the villains getting their comeuppance.
I do take it seriously when certain characters get on my nerves [in TV and movies], to the point where I hope for ill-will and groan when it takes AGES for it materialize. I was grateful to be in a world where evil would get its just reward.
When Eric finally got killed, by Four no less... I wasn't the only person in the theater cheering. [Maybe one or two other people sitting rows behind us].
Then the moments where Peter was getting a taste of his own medicine... he is such a despicable character that Miles Teller plays SO well [he's one of those up and coming young actors, so I can't help but take notice... I'm also thinking that I'll have to hunt down "The Spectacular Now" where he and Shailene Woodley have a more amiable relationship]. Ultimately, Peter does what's best for himself. And there are moments where Tris gets the better of him that I either laughed or cheered for.
One small nit-pick I have is that they introduced a couple of other characters, but never gave their names.
Like the leader of Factionless. Had they kept his part of the movie in the theatrical release [opposed to the DVD extras], we'd have known it was Edward... the #1 initiate at Dauntless before Peter cut his eye out in the middle of the night... but the guy with the Mohawk couldn't have been Edward because he had both eyes.
Uriah, I recognized right away... he comes on the roof and chats with Tris before Candor falls under attack... they didn't even mention him by name... so people not familiar with the books wouldn't know any better. In however little screen time he had with her in that scene, I found his presence comforting. I can't quite say why.
But those are simply minor details. Certainly not enough to keep this movie from succeeding.
The big second half of the film unfold when Tris surrenders herself to Jeanine.
During the raid on Candor, it was discovered that Tris was 100% Divergent and everyone had devices attached to them. These devices would allow Jeanine to control their movements. This becomes clear when Christina and two other Dauntless attempt to jump to their deaths [one doesn't make it], chanting to hand over Tris or more will die.
Tris sees no choice, despite Four's protests, but to give herself over to Jeanine.
Months ago, I cried foul at the teaser trailer of this movie because it looked nothing like the book... apparently, the scene they used was a simulation... which explains SO MUCH.
First is Dauntless, where Tris has to chase after a floating burning building to save her mom. All kinds of craziness that could only happen in a movie... there's just no way.
Next was Candor, where she told her mom the truth about her feelings about everything rattling her brain... considering all the action in this movie and how unsettling some of it is, it was a relief that this simulation wasn't particularly difficult. Plus, it was good catharsis for Tris.
Then there was Erudite... a point where I thought we were out of the simulation, but not quite... I believed it so easily [with the explosion that began it... it was hard not to... I screamed then because it was so sudden and loud]. The dead giveaway was Four repeating something Tris never said to him, but to someone else.
Abnegation apparently came about because Tris chose not to shoot Peter.[One previous pay-off I forgot to mention... Tris giving Peter physical hell when he was alone with her in the simulation room... that was just fun to watch :P]
The only unfortunate part about this part of the movie was what happened with Caleb. The degree of betrayal that went down on his part... looking back to the books, I never quite forgave him for it, but I wouldn't necessarily call it a grudge.
There were plenty of surprises over the last 15 minutes of the movie that I won't go into too much detail about... except that I remembered that part of the book literally as it was happening... and it made the scene all the more enjoyable.
The box does open and the message from the Founders was revealed and later spread throughout the city.
And the movie ends on a great note. Not just Jeanine getting what's coming to her, but also the ending credits where the symbols of the factions disintegrating... a nice touch.
Grade: A (for the target audience), A- (for those not fond of excessive special effects)
