Divergent (2014) - ★★★½

Director: Neil Burger
Writers: Evan Daugherty, Vanessa Taylor (Screenplay), Veronica Roth (Novel)
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet

I've seen so many YA (young-adult) films in the past 6 years, that they're all starting to blend in together and fade out of my memory. I disliked almost every modern YA movie I've seen during this period of time, because they're more silly than entertaining, they're poorly acted, poorly written, poorly produced, and quite frankly, poor excuses for films. While there are a few exceptions, like The Hunger Games (2012), this whole genre, whether they be book or film, stinks to high heaven with a lack of originality.

Divergent is a silly film.  Yet, I find its characters are interesting, the cast is brilliant, the soundtrack is unique, the set-production/cinematography is good, and most importantly, it's consistently entertaining. These critiques alone make Divergent stand as one of the best YA films made in recent years.

The Spectacular Now (2013) - ★★★★½

Director: James Ponsoldt
Writers: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber (screenplay) Tim Sharp (novel)
Stars: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Masam Holden, Kyle Chandler, Nicci Faires

The Spectacular Now came out of nowhere to become one of my favourite films of 2013, and one of the all-time greatest teenage coming-of-age stories. While similar films fail to show their characters are more than skin deep, The Spectacular Now is such a breath of fresh air. It gives us a look at two very interesting teenagers, and shows their insecurities, thoughts and feelings in great depth. The reason it works as a stand-out film of its genre is due to the outstanding performances of Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller, whose chemistry is something you don't find even with the most seasoned of actors. It left me with a feeling of pure elation, which is something not many films have done this year.

The Descendants (2011) - ★★★½

Director: Alexander Payne
Writer: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon (screenplay), Kaui Hart Hemmings (novel)
Stars: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause, Matthew Lillard

Finally! George Clooney showing real emotion in a movie! The Descendants is a charming but sad film about a Dad struggling to fix his relationship with his daughters and deal with the news of his wife having an affair. On top of that, his wife is dying in hospital as a result of a boating accident. This doesn't sound like the kind of movie many people would enjoy right? Well wrong, because this movie somehow made me change my opinion on George Clooney's range of acting and it actually made me feel something for every character, whether it be pity, happiness or anger.

Filmed in Hawaii, there are some truly beautiful shots of the Island as he and his daughters relationships get stronger. There were many subtle issues addressed in this movie, such as the youngest daughter getting less fatherly attention because she is better behaved than the older one, the step-father who will always blame his step-son for his daughter being unhappy, the oldest daughters boyfriend who also has many issues of his own yet no one really cares about it and the issue of whether it is right to hate his wife for cheating while she is dying.

George Clooney really shines in this movie, as does Shailene Woodley. The anguish on their faces when they hear the bad news was natural and convincing, as was the scene when George found out about the affair. Overall this is a movie about a messed up family coming together through the death of their mother and actually growing stronger because of the ordeal. Very, very good.