Ready Player One Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: In a future where the internet has been turned into a virtual game universe, a group of friends must overcome a series of quests to prevent a maniacal corporation from gaining control over the world!

Review: Although I thoroughly enjoyed the book of the same name, there was something that always bugged me about "Ready Player One." Upon watching this movie, I realized what the book had been missing: that '80s, feel-good tone. The book is full of nostalgia yet it has the perspective and tone of modern YA novels. On the other hand, the movie version feels more in line with how an '80s story would unfold. The icing on the cake is that many of my personal gripes, like how annoying Art3mis was, have been fixed. I dare say the vision for what this story should be was better realized in film format over the book. Yeah, I'm going there.

I'll try to keep book and movie comparisons to a minimum since the two should stand alone, independent of the other. So, the story has been simplified yet the action greatly enhanced for a wider audience. Rather than bombarding the viewer with "remember that" moments, we just get a ton of background dressing that you can point at and say "hey, that's (fill in the blank)." Obviously a visual medium works better for this, but it allows casual and geeky audiences to appreciate things equally. In other words, while everyday people will see big references you will have little details like a pin a character is wearing for the hardcore to notice on repeat viewings. And I think people will want to see the movie multiple times due to the fun factor. The three major challenges are exciting and spice things up more than the book did since it's more varied and intense. The characters have been made archetypal, however, this makes them more likable especially when working as a group. We don't get that awkward bullshit with Aech, for example, like we did in the book. Of note is that Wade is like an everyman now, and Art3mis is less of a tease, drama queen. These character dynamics work well and help endear the audience to them.

Visually, the film delivers beyond just the cool references. I was worried with how they would differentiate between OASIS and the real world, but it blends seamlessly. Another point that was done considerably well was providing a lot of information to the audience but in the right doses so as not to overwhelm an individual. This future seemed more plausible than the book since life didn't just stand still with '80s references...it's more about escapism and fantasy.  Although the romance between Wade and Art3mis is rushed, it still came off as possible due to the events and '80s-inspired charm. I guess you don't mind it as much with a more innocent tone to the story. Likewise, I'm glad that none of the main kids died for the movie version. Truly sealing the deal is the huge war at the end that was even more satisfying than I had envisioned when reading the book. The licensing fees alone had to be incredible! I mean, some references are just down to the weapons the characters use or someone's avatar you see for one second. Love it.

Don't get me wrong, the film still has its faults. The premise is still heavily dependent on references to other franchises to invoke a reaction from audiences. This is effective, of course, but is still a cheap way to win people over. As mentioned, the romance is rushed way too much. Others might not like the tamer and simplified version of the events despite a wholesome vibe befitting the '80s; likewise, moments can feel overly cheesy and cornball. While the story beats of the book are matched, the amount of changes are considerable which might piss off the book fans. Lastly, there are just plenty of contrived moments that some may or may not be as forgiving with as I was.

All things considered, "Ready Player One" is a great adventure that is full of nostalgia and fun. Although it takes great inspiration from other sources, it doesn't feel like a copy. Not only does the story pay tribute to the '80s, but it captures that attitude and approach to storytelling apropos to the era. You want to see everything work out for the heroes and are still satisfied when things go exactly as you expect. The running time is a bit long but the pacing is solid between jumping from each major set piece. The epic final battle is amazing and worth the price of admission alone. Sure, there are problems throughout and there are plenty of cliches, but the film is still enjoyable even for those who don't care one bit about the '80s. I'd definitely recommend checking this out one way or another.

Notable Moment: The entire final battle but especially when we see the original mobile suit Gundam go up against Mechagodzilla. This battle was a moment I was hoping they would do justice toward and it was amazing!

Final Rating: 8/10

A Quiet Place Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A family attempts to survive their everyday life while dealing with deadly creatures that will attack anything making sound.

Review: This is going to be tough to explain. Hmm..."A Quiet Place" is the worst good movie I've probably ever watched. What does that mean? It means that the production is topnotch, with some of the best use of sound to enhance the tension. The style and cinematography are also impressive to create a unique atmosphere where you hear more wind blowing than actual dialogue. Furthermore, the acting was surprisingly good from the players since they speak little. Much of their character development and interactions must be expressed rather than told. Speaking of which, the drama was presented nicely and allows you to care and feel for the characters. In a way, "A Quiet Place" is like watching a silent movie where the theater staff is applying the sound effects like in the old days. Due to this, things become more of an experience than your typical fare. All of these facets are impressive to say the least.

Now, despite how masterfully the technical aspects are constructed, the story is a hot mess of epic proportions. The entire premise of the story is completely outlandish, nonsensical, and outright stupid. You don't just make an artsy type movie with extensive and meticulous attention to detail only to throw that shit right out the window when writing the story! First up, the origin of the creatures is kept vague except this isn't the kind of movie where you can get away with that shit. It's implied they're aliens, but this was not the right direction whatsoever. This should be an isolated tale about one family struggling to survive and not knowing what's happening. Oh, sure, you could imply that it's affecting the world but don't bring those problems into the story. By doing this, the writers turned a promising story into plot hole-infested Swiss cheese.

So let's get a few things straight. The creatures have super hearing, super strength, are blind, few in number, and allegedly indestructible. Their hearing abilities are inconsistent and indefensible. They supposedly can't hear small noises if they're drowned out, yet, how do they distinguish a dropped picture frame from the river running, the wind blowing, the crunching of leaves, the chirping of birds and bugs, etc.? Why can't they hear someone's heartbeat or breathing? How do they get everywhere so fast when we see they're probably slower than a car. There are countless ways you could trick these creatures with sounds like with timed pings that would have them bouncing all over the place perpetually. To make things worse, their hearing abilities are their weakness too! So a regular old shotgun can kill these guys if you make a high-pitched sound?! Okay, so how did they take over the world? The military has sonic weapons, it wouldn't take much to figure out how to exploit their weakness, and I doubt their armor is really that strong if a shotgun can get through it when they're weakened. Missiles, bombs, lasers, plasma, nukes, etc. can't kill 'em but a deaf girl and her mom can?! Yeaaah, okaaay. Plus, that "lock 'n load" final shot was outright embarrassing.

A few other things: where did the dad get all of that sand to walk on? The creatures can't hear the sand being stepped on? The rain doesn't wash it away? How did they set up any of the things to soundproof to begin with? Those lights, for example, are nailed up aren't they? That makes sound. What about the crackling of the fire? It sure is convenient that we don't see how they got through winter with the crunching of the snow. Yeah, I see how the mom cooked food, but we don't see the preparation phase without sound. How are they gardening in the first place with no sound? That baby being born was ridiculous. And babies aren't that damn quiet. Ugh. It's just so infuriating that this plot line was mishandled and many critics and audiences are ignoring it.

I'm torn with "A Quiet Place" because I did enjoy it, however, it's so hard to ignore the glaring flaws. This is like "Signs" where the aliens never stood a chance and their weakness is too damn strong in the first place. But, unlike "Signs," this film's problems are persistent rather than being introduced at the end. I appreciate the technical aspects and the attempt to incorporate a touching family drama into a horror. Sadly, I just can't suspend my disbelief in a situation like this. Something like "Gremlins" where you have to forgive the rules is understandable, because it's a lighthearted story with fantastical elements. With "A Quiet Place," the filmmakers are dead serious, making it harder to overlook the faults that should have been quite apparent from the onset. Overall, this is a genuinely good movie, but the overwhelming plot holes prevent it from being great.

Notable Moment: When the youngest son gets killed is shocking. Because it's the beginning of the film, I suppose the audience will feel like the characters are safe especially a little kid.

Final Rating: 6.5/10

Truth or Dare (2018) Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A group of friends find themselves unwittingly playing a cursed game of truth or dare after meeting a stranger in Mexico.

Review: Essentially, "Truth or Dare" is as lame as you might imagine, however, it does offer mild entertainment and is slightly redeemed by a decent ending. It certainly didn't help that the trailer reveals far, far too much; realistically, if you've seen the trailer you have watched about 80% of the story's events. While I had hoped we could get some cool deaths on par with "Final Destination," the film does not deliver on those goods; in fact, most deaths are extremely tame for a story such as this. I was never expecting much so I guess this makes me a tad more lenient than others.

Of course, the characters are super cliched yet there is an attempt to spice them up. For example, the main chick likes her best friend's boyfriend, but the boyfriend genuinely stays loyal to that best friend. At least the filmmakers were semi-aware of horror tropes and tried to avoid a couple. Unfortunately, the core premise is insanely stupid. There is a cursed game of truth or dare that is somehow possessed by a demon. It doesn't make total sense if you think about it, but it's the level of cornball I was anticipating. The rules of the game are that you die if you don't answer a truth, refuse a dare, or simply don't play along. The way the demon can just arbitrarily possess someone is iffy but whatever. On top of the basic rules, you take turns in order so you can prepare and you can only choose truth twice in a row before someone has to take a dare. This does offer up some plot twists, but there is nothing extraordinary done with the material. One positive I did like was that, for the most part, the friends stay united and don't turn on each other that much.

By the end, the story does have one decent surprise as the friends neither stop the curse nor have a final zinger where they think they've won. Instead, the last two chicks pull something similarly to the likes of "Ring of Curse" where it's revealed that they've involved everyone watching into the game. The two chicks broadcast the game over the internet--cursing all viewers--and, since it will take a long time for their turn to come back around, the girls have managed to survive the curse...for now. This isn't an entirely original idea anymore, but it was still a way to subvert expectations since I doubt that many people have watched "Ring of Curse" or stupid "Rings" or whatever others have used this exit strategy.

Overall, "Truth or Dare" isn't going to blow anyone away. It's cheap thrills with slightly better writing than the sources it's imitating. The ending does help to leave a degree of satisfaction with the audience, but even that is nothing to write home about. I think what could have made this a vastly superior film would have been taking a darker tone than this PG-13 route. And I'm not the type to bring up ratings like this, however, this is one instance where the dulling down of adult content was palpable. In a nutshell, this was destined to be rental material for a Friday night.

Notable Moment: The ending, while not original, was kind of cool and brought the story full circle which I liked.

Final Rating: 5/10