Wicked is good
I headed to the cinema after work today where I saw "The Maze Runner"!
I have to start by saying that I haven't read the book and, apart from the basics, I didn't really know that much about the story. I was actually quite glad about that because it was cool going in knowing nothing about what might happen. It's no secret that I've been a fan of Dylan O'Brien since season one of "Teen Wolf" so I was always gonna go and see this movie. I thought Dylan was really good as the main character - he definitely has movie star looks and, in my opinion, had enough charm and charisma to carry this movie. I did miss his comedy moments though, he's so good at the comedy stuff and it was a shame there wasn't chance for him to show it in this movie (I suppose it isn't exactly a funny premise though). He had pretty good chemisty with the other cast too - especially Kaya Scodelario (who I didn't think was in the movie nearly enough - hopefully she'll have more to do in the sequel), Ki Hong Lee and Blake Cooper who played Chuck. I think the scenes between Chuck and Thomas were some of my favourites in the movie - I especially liked the one when Chuck was showing Thomas what he'd made for his parents in the hope that he'd be able to remember them and see them again one day.
The beginning of the movie opened with Thomas arriving at the Glade and the subsequent scenes of him adjusting to being there and not knowing what was going on where quite well done - and there was enough character development as you could have between a bunch of kids who don't know who there are.
The visuals were very good - the movie looked great - and the maze was equal parts terrifying and amazing. The action/running scenes were very well done, I thought, especially from first time direction Wes Ball. I can't comment on how the look of the Grievers compares to how they look in the books but as a movie goer I thought they looked pretty good (and they reminded me of somthing from another movie but I can't remember what).
I thought some of the major plot points were quite predictable (I won't elaborate but there was one thing that happened near the end that I thought was very obvious) but I thought the story of the maze and what it is went in a way that I wasn't really expecting. I do think that the dialogue could have done with a few more funny lines though - like I said earlier I guess the storyline doesn't really lead to funny situations but a character making some inappropriate wise cracks would have been quite cool.
To sum up: I thought this was a good movie but the 114 minute running time did drag a bit at the beginning. I'd recommended it if you're a fan of movies of this kind - and obviously if you're a "Teen Wolf" fan it's a must see! I'm glad to see it doing well. I also glad that there is gonna be a sequel because it ended very up in the air and it would have been quite annoying if we didn't get to see the next phase (although there will always be the books, right?). I think I'd probably give this movie "a good solid seven and half" out of then.
Trailers:
Penguins of Madagascar - This animated feature looks quite fun but I don't think I'll be making the trip to the cinema to see it. Maybe if it's on TV.
McBusted: Tour Play - Well, I wasn't expecting to see a trailer for this. Even with my reservations about the whole thing I couldn't help but smile when this trailer came on. It does look good. Obviously I've already booked my ticket.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Some parts of this trailer looked really fun but some other parts just didn't work for me. I'm not sure why. I'll probably end up watching it at some point but I don't know if I'll go to the cinema. We'll see.
Interstellar - This looks pretty interesting, although I'm not really a big fan of serious sci fi. It was a good trailer though. Might see it.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - Or "Hunger Games 3 Part 1" as I wrote on my phone when I saw the trailer. Well, I still haven't seen the 2nd movie so until I do that there's not much point in me seeing this one. I'm sure I'll see it at some point though.
In TV news: I watched the opening episode of "Gotham" last night (I missed about 10 minutes because my TiVo box had a moment) - I thought it was a pretty pilot episode and I'm interested in seeing where things go from here. I thought Ben McKenzie was good in the lead role of Jim Gordon (I always liked him in "The OC" but didn't get chance to see him in "Southland", unfortunately). I think it's a pretty cool premise for a show and even though I'm not a fan of comic book/superhero movies I do think they can work really well on TV. I'll keep watching this.
I also watched "Under the Dome" - 2x08 - I have no idea what's going on in this show right now. I'm quite interested though.
I have to start by saying that I haven't read the book and, apart from the basics, I didn't really know that much about the story. I was actually quite glad about that because it was cool going in knowing nothing about what might happen. It's no secret that I've been a fan of Dylan O'Brien since season one of "Teen Wolf" so I was always gonna go and see this movie. I thought Dylan was really good as the main character - he definitely has movie star looks and, in my opinion, had enough charm and charisma to carry this movie. I did miss his comedy moments though, he's so good at the comedy stuff and it was a shame there wasn't chance for him to show it in this movie (I suppose it isn't exactly a funny premise though). He had pretty good chemisty with the other cast too - especially Kaya Scodelario (who I didn't think was in the movie nearly enough - hopefully she'll have more to do in the sequel), Ki Hong Lee and Blake Cooper who played Chuck. I think the scenes between Chuck and Thomas were some of my favourites in the movie - I especially liked the one when Chuck was showing Thomas what he'd made for his parents in the hope that he'd be able to remember them and see them again one day.
The beginning of the movie opened with Thomas arriving at the Glade and the subsequent scenes of him adjusting to being there and not knowing what was going on where quite well done - and there was enough character development as you could have between a bunch of kids who don't know who there are.
The visuals were very good - the movie looked great - and the maze was equal parts terrifying and amazing. The action/running scenes were very well done, I thought, especially from first time direction Wes Ball. I can't comment on how the look of the Grievers compares to how they look in the books but as a movie goer I thought they looked pretty good (and they reminded me of somthing from another movie but I can't remember what).
I thought some of the major plot points were quite predictable (I won't elaborate but there was one thing that happened near the end that I thought was very obvious) but I thought the story of the maze and what it is went in a way that I wasn't really expecting. I do think that the dialogue could have done with a few more funny lines though - like I said earlier I guess the storyline doesn't really lead to funny situations but a character making some inappropriate wise cracks would have been quite cool.
To sum up: I thought this was a good movie but the 114 minute running time did drag a bit at the beginning. I'd recommended it if you're a fan of movies of this kind - and obviously if you're a "Teen Wolf" fan it's a must see! I'm glad to see it doing well. I also glad that there is gonna be a sequel because it ended very up in the air and it would have been quite annoying if we didn't get to see the next phase (although there will always be the books, right?). I think I'd probably give this movie "a good solid seven and half" out of then.
Trailers:
Penguins of Madagascar - This animated feature looks quite fun but I don't think I'll be making the trip to the cinema to see it. Maybe if it's on TV.
McBusted: Tour Play - Well, I wasn't expecting to see a trailer for this. Even with my reservations about the whole thing I couldn't help but smile when this trailer came on. It does look good. Obviously I've already booked my ticket.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Some parts of this trailer looked really fun but some other parts just didn't work for me. I'm not sure why. I'll probably end up watching it at some point but I don't know if I'll go to the cinema. We'll see.
Interstellar - This looks pretty interesting, although I'm not really a big fan of serious sci fi. It was a good trailer though. Might see it.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - Or "Hunger Games 3 Part 1" as I wrote on my phone when I saw the trailer. Well, I still haven't seen the 2nd movie so until I do that there's not much point in me seeing this one. I'm sure I'll see it at some point though.
In TV news: I watched the opening episode of "Gotham" last night (I missed about 10 minutes because my TiVo box had a moment) - I thought it was a pretty pilot episode and I'm interested in seeing where things go from here. I thought Ben McKenzie was good in the lead role of Jim Gordon (I always liked him in "The OC" but didn't get chance to see him in "Southland", unfortunately). I think it's a pretty cool premise for a show and even though I'm not a fan of comic book/superhero movies I do think they can work really well on TV. I'll keep watching this.
I also watched "Under the Dome" - 2x08 - I have no idea what's going on in this show right now. I'm quite interested though.