A place for things and stuff
First up is The Flash hanging out with The Flash, so that is pretty grand. I hope for lots of timey-wimey complications!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=93&v=zgu7cw2kZ2w
Next is the Arrow trying hard not to be the Arrow. He is happy and his friends don’t want him to be. Those jerks! Well it isn’t quite like that, but it kind of is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ3s178GW0Q
I know this Jessica Jones teaser was posted last Saturday by Netflix, but this trailer is how I feel this morning. Lil’ Shmee has not been sleeping well which means the Elder Shmees are also not sleeping well. Hey at least it looks like they got the tone of the show right! Oh man that enthusiasm was hard… Anyway I am going to go drink a gallon (or two) of coffee.
I recently finished Ernest Cline’s geeky pop culture video game novel Ready Player One, and now I am not so sure that I want Steven Spielberg to attempt to make it in to a movie. I mean there is so much going on, and just about every major geek property is included in this book from Star Wars to Marvel to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Maybe if the Disney was doing this movie and not Warner Brothers they could figure out a way to make most of the licensing work, but even if they get all the licensing (or enough of it anyway), they will still have to make it in to a movie that non-geeks are going to want to watch. Spielberg’s name will help bring in audiences, but even for the father of the modern blockbuster hits are not guaranteed.
The problem is people escaping real life and living in a video game might be to high concept for audiences to wrap their minds around, and even if they do, will they be able to keep up with the non-stop 80’s video game, TV, and movie references? Some of them were even lost on me as I read the book. This is going to be a hard movie to get right, and if it goes wrong it will go really wrong. I guess I am just worried that a very fun book will turn in to middling movie that no one will watch. We will find out in a little over two years how Mr. Spielberg captures the adventures of Parzival and his 80’s loving virtual pals. I just wish I felt better about it all. If nothing else the book is still great, and you should add to your reading list if you haven’t read it already.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQASIzTNHHw
I am still not sure how the Supergirl show is going work. I mean Superman exists, but we will not get to see him or call him Superman? They should have totally gone the Power Girl route. This setup is going to get kind of awkward. Though I will say that even though the special effects look like they could use a little work it is nice that they are not holding back on letting her use her powers. I am hoping for some campy fun this October! It will probably be the only show I watch on CBS!
The Scorch Trials opened in theaters this last weekend, but since I have a toddler and am cheep, I watched its predecessor The Maze Runner on HBO Go. I went in with pretty low expectations, with some notable exceptions, the YA (young adult) novel genre has not generated a lot of good movies, but I have to say The Maze Runner was a solid effort.
The movie follows a young man (Dylan O’Brien) who wakes up in an elevator with no memory, and at the top of the elevator he finds himself in idyllic glade. The problem is that the only way out of the glade is through a giant ever changing maze that is full of monsters. He and the rest of the boys in the glade will have to figure out the maze’s secrets in order to get home. Wherever or whatever that is.
Much like all, or almost all, YA novel adaptations this movie takes place in a not so distant dystopian future. Though unlike most YA movies at least you have no idea what is going on. Even after watching the movie, I am pretty sure they have not explained everything to me. The little extra mystery helps separate this movie from the rest of the ever increasing pack. So much so that Mrs. Shmee almost wanted to drop off Lil’ Shmee with a babysitter so we could continue the filmic adventure.
The cast all did a good job. I am not sure that anyone is going to make this film the first item on their resume, but no one turned in a bad performance either. Workmanlike jobs all around. It was refreshing to see so much competence out of a young cast. Plus it featured Will Poulter from Son of Rambow, and I am all for any of those kids getting more work.
The special effects could have used a little more cash, but since they were used sparingly they didn’t detract from the film, and the direction by Wes Ball was fine. Nothing stunning, but much like the acting and the story it was done well. If you are getting the feeling that this was just a well made movie all around, you would be correct.
I don’t believe that The Maze Runner is going to be anyone’s favorite movie, unless they have a crush on one of the leads, but it was still a quality movie made by people who knew what they were doing. If only most movies were as well made. I stated in the intro to this review that it was a “solid effort”, and I do believe that is the best way to describe The Maze Runner. Solid, and there are worse things being an entertaining and competent movie.