Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/295983
APRIL 16-22, 2014 UCW 21 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM I didn't read the books, and now I'm not sure I want to. Although, if I am honest, I must admit that I didn't utterly and irredeemably loathe Divergent (139 minutes). I mean, I expected to throw up in my mouth a little bit at least once during what I expected to be standard smurfy teen romance with science fiction trappings. I was pleasantly surprised to find at least 30 minutes of substance hidden in all the filler. And there is enough filler coming out the sides of the picture to cover the audience chin deep in layers of packing peanuts. The story is set in Chicago of the future. How far in the future is debatable, since the film takes place after some unspecified apocalypse has supposedly wiped out most of the United States, but the population had enough time to build a few architectural wonders and solidify a pretty strict caste system. However, they didn't bother knocking down dangerously decaying buildings or the famous Chicago Ferris Wheel, which makes you wonder where a drastically reduced population got the raw materials and technical know-how to erect their new slum dwellings and upper-class palazzos? I don't ask much of movies, but I do demand that the post-apocalyptic, semi-utopian, landscape adhere to some form of engineering logic. The population is divided into five factions along with a few nonconformists; Abnegation (selfless), Amity (peaceful farmers), Erudite (brains), Candor (truthful), and Dauntless (warriors). There are also the Factionless (rejects), who do not have access to the same salon-quality hair products and make-up as the rest of the population or the titular Divergents. This Divergent group threatens the ruling class and is almost as unpopular as the Abnegation faction. The other factions blame Abnegation for causing the post- apocalypse to be less user-friendly, while the Divergents are mostly targeted by the Erudite faction as an undesirably disruptive element. Got that? The Smart People think they should be in charge of telling everyone else what to do, and also think that the underclass Factionless can go hungry because they drain social resources. Someone had a nice tall glass of Ayn Rand with their morning Wheaties! Or did they? Turns out all that stuff about how The Smart People should run things was just an introduction to the fact that the Erudite faction is filled with sociopaths who take social planning to a rather murderous extreme. For example, Jeanine Mathews (Kate Winslet), Chief Erudite, decides the best way of putting the Brains in charge is to use mindless soldiers to commit genocide against an opposing faction. Instead of holding a referendum, or town hall meeting, or instituting a recall vote. Or, you know, something other than genocide. Anyway, despite the two plus hours running time, there aren't many plot points. A girl (Shailene Woodley), unhappy with her place in the world, finds out she is super special and important, unlike anyone else she knows. Then she rebels by leaving the comforts of home for a new and challenging environment, where she makes new friends and meets a cute 30-year-old boy (Theo James). But wait! Then she uncovers a secret danger that only she has the power to fix (with the help of her new friends). She sort of fixes it, but not really, setting up the sequel. A sequel I do not intend to watch, but whatever floats your boat, I guess. I Checked My Watch Three Times Divergent (Rated PG-13)) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upand- comingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. R First Month's Rent FREE! Mention promo code NA001 to redeem this offer. *restrictions may apply MILITARY DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE! 1939 Skibo Road Fayetteville, NC 28314 910-864-1151 2655 George Owen Road Fayetteville, NC 28306 910-423-0888 526 McArthur Road Fayetteville, NC 28311 910-488-6250 3800 Bragg Boulevard Fayetteville, NC 28303 910-339-7048 1057 Rim Road Fayetteville, NC 28314 910-860-0040 3520 Bragg Boulevard Fayetteville, NC 28303 910-867-1314 320 North Reilly Road Fayetteville, NC 28303 910-339-7031 - Picture - Vote - Rosalyn Hood - for - District Court Judge - Early Voting april 24- May 3, 2014 - priMary ElEction May 6, 2014 Facebook.com/RosHood4Judge RosHood4Judge@gmail.com RosHood4Judge.com PO BOx 64573, Fayetteville, NC 28306 • 910-644-3692 Early Voting April 24-May 3, 2014 Primary Election May 6, 2014 Rosalyn Hood "committed to making this a great community and safe place to live" assistant district attorney for cumberland county North carolina central university school of law graduate Currently Serving as a United States Army Reserve Officer Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran of War member of alpha kappa alpha sorority, inc. member of Piney grove original Free Will baptist church Paid for by the Committee to Elect Rosalyn Hood H Assistant District Attorney for Cumberland County H H North Carolina Central University School of Law Graduate H H Currently Serving as a United States Army Reserve Officer H H Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran of War H H Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. H H Member of Piney Grove Original Free Will Baptist Church H "Committed to making this a great community and safe place to live"