The Maze Runner movie review

 Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Ami Ameen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee, Will Poulter, Blake Cooper, Kaya Scodelano
Director: Wes Ball
Running time: 1 hour and 53 minutes

  It used to be witches and wizards. Then it was vampires and werewolves. Now it's all about dystopian futures. That is where Thomas' story comes to life. In a dystopian future; and more specifically in a maze. Thomas is one of many children who were put in the middle of a maze with no recollection of how they got there or any memory of their past. How did Thomas and the others get there? How could they get out?

 

  "The Maze Runner" is based on the first book of a trilogy written by James Dashner. Having read the book in question and having enjoyed it quite a lot I decided to go to the movies to see how the words would translate on the screen. This is my opinion on that "translation".

 

  Since it is in the title let's start with what I thought about the actual maze. So here it is: The maze itself is stunning. The beautiful and tranquil, full of greenery, middle part of the maze called Glade is right out of a nature magazine, while the mazy (not really a word) part of the maze is super industrial and cool looking. There are walls after walls, layer after layer, dead ends and wrong turns and everything looks amazing. Better than I imagined it.

 

  Now that we got that out of the way it's time to move on to the story line. Like in the book there were some worthwhile moments in a dramatic sense. !!SPOILER ALERT!! If you want to see the moment when Thomas decides to go into the maze to save Alby, it's there. If you want to see the scene when Thomas decides to sting himself so that he can remember, that's there too. Being fan of the dramatic (sometimes even the cheesy dramatic) I enjoyed those moments and scenes, but that's about as good as it goes. Especially for someone who has read the book and knows how everything pans out. I was never nervous or excited; I was just emotionlessly watching a series of events while always knowing the next step of the sequence.

  As you may have guesses already I wasn't a big fan of the movie and one of the reasons why is the lack emotional connection with all of the characters. Even though I had read the book and did like Thomas (and loved Gally) I felt no emotion towards them in the movie. Is Thomas going to get killed by the Grievers? Who cares; certainly not me. A team of good actors playing a banch of characters with no personalities to speak of (the inventors took only their memories, not their character traits supposingly).

  What I would, also, like to add is that not only was I indifferent to Thomas but i, actually, disliked him. His obvious favoritism towards some of the characters was very annoying and at times cruel. They decided that Thomas was going to play God (and by they i mean the screenwriters and even Dashner a bit) because everyone would only try to save certain people from the human killing machines and those people were, always, picked by Thomas. It wasn't as obvious as i describe it but no less frustrating.

  The book is about 376 pages long and the movie is 113 minutes long. That time to page difference really took away from the film for me. Everything that happens in the first 3/4 of the book is cramped into a 45 minute period. I felt that everything happened too fast, not giving the audience the chance to take it all in the way someone reading the book would.

  Another very important flaw that of the movie that i thought was, also, a flaw in the book (maybe even more than the movie) is the ending !!SPOILER!!. I don't understand how could no one figure out for the three years they were in the maze that it was just a test? Or that if you study a maze the same way for three years and you haven't found anything that means you won't find anything for the next 100 years if you don't change something in your ways? (Isn't "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" what they say?)

  And, finally, let's talk about the Grievers and every scene that they are in (which are a lot of them). Everything was too loud, the Grievers themselves were faky gross looking and i was not really scared by them. When i was reading the book i was picturing more of a mechanical invention and if the story was different i wouldn't mind if something wasn't exactly as i thought it would be but seeing as the Grievers were created by people i really wanted something more similar to what i was imagining. Because of their appearance and the way they sounded every scene featuring them felt more like a Sci Fi scary horror film, which isn't what the rest of the movie was.

  In conclusion, i was really disappointed with how The Maze Runner turned out. I don't recommend it to those who have read the book but, maybe, if you are going in cold you might like it.I will, probably, read the second book, not so sure i will watch the second movie.

Score: 42%
Tomatometer: 63%


m.
 

Courtesy of

20th Century Fox

 

Garden State movie review

Cast: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm
Director: Zach Braff
Running time: 1 hour and 52 minutes

  It's been nine years since Andrew Largeman has been back home to New Jersey. But when his mother dies, Andrew is forced to go back to his childhood home, his psychiatrist father and his high school friends, for the funeral. You may think you know what kind of movie this is, but it's something completely different.

  Garden State is like nothing I've ever seen before. It's a drama, it's a comedy, it's a love story and it's all those things in the perfect way. I've never seen a movie do so much at once in a perfect blend. I might just started dipping my toes in this infinite pool that is movies, but I can't help being impressed with what "Garden State" achieved. Every type of incident depicted in this film, from the funny to the sad and from the lovely to the tragically horrible, everything is in harmony. There to compliment one another.

  One of the most wonderful things about this movie is how simple it actually is. There is not what someone would describe as a straight line plot. There is just a series of situations during a four day period that serve no higher purpose but they, slowly and surely, start reveling the personalities of everyone involved. In most of the movies "everything happens for a reason"; and people may want to believe that this is the case in real life but it's not. Garden State conveys that reality perfectly.

  At the beginning of the film we see how Andrew Largeman's life is  blank and emotionless. He, clearly, feels numb when we first meet him. So numb, in fact, that he can't even cry at his mother's funeral. But as the movie goes along and as more time passes from the last time he took his prescriptioned medicine, we start to witness subtle glimpses of emotion coming to the surface. We see him evolve from a medicated blank canvas into a colorful painting full of emotion. It was amazing to watch that process.

  Something else worth mentioning is how sensational all of the actors are. When you first meet the characters you may think that they are a type but Braff's writing combined with the excellent performances of the cast bring all the parts to life and give them a refreshing originality and a lifelike depth.

  Now regarding our two leads, Sam and Andrew. I was shocked at the effortlessness and comfort between them. At some point in the movie one of the two mentions how they've known each other only for four days, and I was surprised to realize that it was true. There are movies that you want the protagonists, who know each other for a short period of time, to be in love with each other but you don't necessarily believe that they would and then there is Garden State that you know that the protagonists, who know each other or a short period of time, would be in love.

  And at last, I have to say how fast the time flew by while watching his movie. Garden State was so interesting that I would look at how much time I had spent watching it and it would be 10 minutes and the next moment it would be an hour and the next the movie would be ending and it hadn't even registered in my mind that it was 1 hour and 50 minutes after the first time I sat down and pushed the play button. It has been a long time since I last experienced something like that and I'm glad Garden State came around to remind me of the feeling.

  Garden State is almost perfect, almost. Despite the fact that the movie was so interesting, fast paced and exciting, the first 10 minutes were a bit on the slow side. After that 10 minute mark everything is exhilarating and captivating, but for those minutes I didn't know what I was in for. I was scared that I wouldn't like it and be disappointed after wanting to watch it for so long (that didn't happen if you haven't figured it out already).

  Lastly, because the film was so strong throughout I was a little let down by the ending. I found that it caved into a cliché and it frustrated me since everything else was so innovating. I wish there was a different conclusion (even though I have no idea what I would have liked to have seen).

  In conclusion, Garden State is pretty amazing and if you find the start too slow paced, keep at it; you will be rewarded in the end.

Final thought: I was, definitely, in it.

Score:90%
Tomatometer: 86%


m.

Courtesy of

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Miramax Films

Two Night Stand movie review

Cast: Analeigh Tipton, Miles Teller, Jessica Szohr, Leven Rambin, Scott Mescudi
Director: Max Nichols
Running time: 1 hour and 26 minutes 

 Analeigh Tipton is just a girl wanting to have fun after her break-up grieving period. So she meets Miles Teller online and they end up hitting off and hooking up. Every thing is going according to plan until Megan wakes up the next morning to find that she is stranded in Alec's apartment with no hopes of going anywhere because of a terrible snow blizzard. And so the one night stand they were hoping for turned into a "Two Night Stand" no one wanted.

  This is the third romantic comedy style movie with 20something protagonists that I've reviewed in the last months, the others being "That Awkward Moment" ( review: http://moviereviewsbym94.blogspot.gr/2014/05/that-awkward-moment-movie-review.html ) (which Teller was in) and "Cavemen" ( review: http://moviereviewsbym94.blogspot.gr/2014/09/cavemen-movie-review.html ). And like Cavemen I have to praise Two Night Stand for the chemistry between its leads. They are very cute together. He is funny and dorky-good looking. She is beautiful, charming and has awesome hair. It's a match made in heaven. And fortunately, they are the focus of the movie, unlike That Awkward Moment.

  Another strong, and often missing from this type of movies, element that Two Night Stand posses is that it is R rated and it embraces that. Unlike both of the other movies, sex plays a big part in the film (it is called "Two Night Stand" after all). They do it, they talk about it and they make it important, like it is for someone in his/her twenties.

  And finally, I did enjoy the movie's light, fun and flirty moments. When it's not about something deep and/or serious, Two Night Stand is a good time. It has its funny moments. It has its hot and simultaneously adorable co-stars. And it has a light, refreshing touch to it. All in all pleasurable, until you forget all about it five minutes after you saw it.

  Which brings me to this. Two Night Stand might have its light, unimportant fun but it, also, has its serious, "draggy" moments. The screenwriters try to give the movie substance by making the characters talk about thing like how difficult it is to have your parents still together,in love and how to live up to that and it feels kind of ridiculous. These types of conversations don't go well with the tone of the rest of the movie and they drag it into clichés and stereotypes. I feel like if the film had accepted its more light-hearted nature it would be a better time for the audience and the critics.

  Moreover, something that bothered me with Two Night Stand is the uncharacteristic behavior of Megan and Alec. Would a reasonable and averagely intelligent person break a window and illegally enter someone else's house just to use the toilette? Or call the police on someone they like and get them thrown into jail just so that they can track them down? I doubt it, but I guess everyone threw away their thinking caps in this movie because they do all those stuff without even thinking of the consequences.

  And, at last, yes I have to talk about it. Two Night Stand, like both the other movies (and many more i'm sure), seems to follow the same roc-com formula. From the drug scenes to the serious talks to the last make-up. We've seen it all before. There are so many stereotypical pieces to the movie that anything original Two Night Stand has to offer disappears.

  In conclusion, I can't whole-heartedly recommend Two Night Stand but I can, also, vouch for the fact that it is not terrible.

Final thought: The opening sequence is cute (there is that word again).

Score: 41%
Tomatometer: 33%


m.

Courtesy of

eOne