The Giver – Brenton Thwaites and Odeya Rush delivered emotionally gripping performances as Jonas and Fiona. Based on a book where children are tasked with specific roles in society and a narrative structure that speaks to that singular type of responsibility, is it possible to see the inner struggle on screen? Lowery herself acknowledged the book lives in the inner thoughts of the characters and said “‘Introspective, quiet, and short on action’ translates to ‘tough to film’”. It’s also interesting to see how the movie handled the numerous characters as there are MANY worth caring about in the book.

If I Stay – Chloe Moretz delivers consistently amazing performances but few are as emotionally rich as her turn as Mia in If I Stay. The love story told in this movie is beyond and reminds us how precious life is. A major complication with a story that takes place largely in between the realms of life and death is the utter impossibility of portraying that as no one can truly speak to what it is like. We think the film managed to mitigate the cheesiness while delivering an emotional ride.