“Ready Player One” Set To Unthrone “Black Panther”

“That was when I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it’s also the only place where you can find true happiness. Because reality is real.”   Wade Watts

This is an inevitable truth of reality as a movie based on virtual reality is sweeping the box office this Easter weekend as it looks to dethrone Black Panther.  Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One stars Tye Sheridan as Persival, an avatar created for The Oasis as his human self, Wade Watts delves into the Virtual Reality world that has recently become the norm for everyone.

Overall, the film is packed with all kinds of retro montages as “they come to the Oasis for all they can do, but stay for all they can be”.  The basic plot of the movie is to find a series of keys in order to find the easter egg at the end and take control of The Oasis.

Wade/Persival starts the mission with that one goal, thinking like everyone else, how cool it would be to own The Oasis, but he soon discovers something more important as a by chance encounter with Art3mis (played by Olivia Cooke) shows him that love is possible, but will it be enough to save the Oasis and the World from landing in the wrong hands.

At 2 hour 20 minute runtime, Ready Player One is a film of definite Steven Spielberg magic.  Going into the theater, one won’t know what to expect out of the mastermind as the setting both in the real world and the Oasis causes people to be fully engulfed in the action going on.  Not a lot of humor, but as I said prior, the retro easter eggs placed in the Oasis, will make people looking extra hard so they don’t miss what’s coming next.

Ready Player One came out in theaters March 30 and is currently playing in a theater near you.  See it now, especially if you are a fan of virtual reality, because you won’t look at it the same way after.

 

“Death Cure” Takes One

The third installment of the Maze Runner franchise follows Thomas as a recent outcast out to save the remaining kids from WCKD.    All the while, the group discovers more into what the group of scentists known as Wicked is trying to do, i.e create a cure and Thomas’ girlfriend Theresa, after betraying all is determined to succeed by checking every remaining immune kid still in the city.

The Maze Runner: Death Cure stars,Dylan O’Brien as Thomas along with Pirates of the Caribbean star Kaya Scodelario as Theresa as the two work opposite each other with different motives that ultimately end up coming together when Theresa realizes the cure for the virus is in Thomas himself, but the question is will they be able to create the antidote before head of WCKD, Jansen (played by Aidan Gillen) gets a hold of the cure himself.

At 2 hour 22 minute run time, The Maze Runner: The Death Cure will have audiences on the edge of their seat with high action, suspense.  Even being a sequel, it’s a movie that will spark anyone’s attention and one doesn’t necessarily have to see the previous two movies to enjoy this one.  Ultimately it’s a movie that could stand alone as an all knew adventure for our heros.

The Death Cure came out in theaters January 26 and has already grossed 23.5 million domestically coming in at number one at the box office.  It’s currently playing in a theater near you.

“Shack” Review

Based on the  New York Times best seller by Wm. Paul Young, The Shack is the first truly inspiration story of the year as you see the struggle of Mack as he goes from having everything in life to losing the one thing that begins to unravel his family’s whole existence, as he grapples with the ultimate question, “How could God let that happen?” The story tugs  at the heartstrings as it shows a God fearing man, and challenges everything that Mack Phillips believes. Now in the midst of his grief, Mack receives a letter from God, to which he makes the journey back to the shack that took his youngest daughter in order to find the ultimate forgiveness that everyone hopes to find.

The Shack stars Sam Worthington as Mack as he meets God, or Papa (Octavia Spencer),  who he remembers from a young child as being the one who helps him see the light in the mist of his abusive father.  The film also stars Tim McGraw as his friend, who helps him throughout his journey.  At 2 hrs and 10 minutes, the Shack is sure to have you tearing up with the deepest emotion as the powerful acting of the entire cast brings even more depth to such a powerful story.

The Shack came out the first weekend in March and has already brought in over 20 million at the box office and is said to be the seventh highest grossing Christian film thus far.  It’s currently playing in a theater near you.

“Split” Breaks Records

M. Night Shyamalan‘s latest suspense thriller is taking  the box office by storm with a record  40 million opening weekend making it the fifth largest January opening to date.

Universal Pictures Split follows the story of the multi personalities of Kevin Wendell Crumb in a struggle to survive amidst himself.  Otherwise known has Dissociative Identity Disorder, Crumb played by James McAvoy finds himself wrestling with his own identities which ultimately leads him to kidnapping three young girls and holding them hostage for what is to be his newest identity which has yet to be unleashed, called ‘the monster’.

Overall, the movie will have audiences sitting on the edge of their seats trying to figure out just which personality will come out next as the three girls race to find an escape through one of the many identities of Mr. Crumb.  McAvoy’s portrayal of each identity is seamless as you truly see the real struggle of someone with this rare disorder.

Additionally, Shyamalan holds true to his own distinct style by using hidden easter eggs to further give dept to his story, including his always subtle cameo as well as his use of the color yellow to stimulate the current hysterical and personality change that our character goes through.

Split also stars  Anya Taylor Joy as Casey, Haley Lu Richardson as Claire, Jessica Sula as Marcia and Betty Buckley as Dr. Karen Fletcher who tries to cure Crumb though the personalities ultimately get in the way.

Split came out in theaters, January 20, 2017 and is currently playing in a theater near you.