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Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player One (2018)
Some aspects of this film intrigued me prior to seeing it, while other things about the movie worried me.
It interested me that a lot of characters and parts from famous films would be scattered throughout Ready Player One. However, I was concerned that every aspect of the movie would be overdone.
Why would I worry that a big budget film might be overcooked and therefore tasteless?
Hollywood has become obsessed with gathering together big budget group movies. It started with superhero movies and those superhero movies had to keep getting bigger and fuller. It is no longer just Batman or Superman, or even just Spiderman anymore. Batman vs. Superman also was not even good enough (of course, we knew it wouldn’t be). It is now The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Justice League, Suicide Squad, and X-Men, to name a few. Hollywood will take a concept that worked once and bleed it dry for everything that it is worth. It will be purged of all entertainment value. All that will be left behind is an overdone, and overblown metastasized mess that should be cut off because it is destroying the host that is the superhero genre.
What does this have to do with Ready Player One?
Because Hollywood has to keep trying to outdo itself, it keeps adding too many ingredients, and we no longer recognize what we are being fed. The trailer for Ready Player One had me worried that the movie would just be too much.
Ready Player One is about a future where a virtual reality videogame world called “The Oasis” is better than the real world. The creator of “The Oasis” has hidden secrets inside of his game. The world has become obsessed with finding those secrets and taking control of “The Oasis” and the trillions of dollars that it is worth.
The movie was directed by Steven Spielberg and the noteworthy cast includes Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg, Lena Waithe, Ralph Ineson, Susan Lynch, Clare Higgins, and Laurence Spellman.
I got to enjoy this film in 3D and I believe that greatly improved my movie watching experience. The special effects are firing on all cylinders in this one.
To say that I was pleasantly surprised by this movie would be an understatement. Were things overdone at times? Yes. But, let’s say they were tastefully overdone.
If you grew up playing videogames, then you will likely enjoy this movie more than someone who did not play video games, as a child. In other words, if you are in your fifties or older, you might not get much out of this movie.
Some of the characters and places that were recreated from other films in this movie were nothing short of incredible.
Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, and Ben Mendelsohn all did a great job in this movie.
I enjoyed how Spielberg walked the line of videogame and reality in Ready Player One. The videogame world created inside of the film feels just like the real world inside of the movie. In a lot of ways, Ready Player One is like nothing we have ever seen on screen. However, you can bet that the concept in this film will return again soon to a theater near you.
Overall, Ready Player One was peppered with nostalgia. Characters and icons from our childhoods were brought back to life with a vengeance. It was an exciting and epic Steven Spielberg story of good vs. evil in a fight to save the fictional world.
I rate this movie a 9 on a scale of 1-10.
If you liked this film then you might also enjoy:
Back to the Future (1985)
The Shining (1980)
Thoroughbreds (2017)
Thoroughbreds (2017)
Initially, the main reason that I wanted to see this film was because of Anton Yelchin, may he rest in peace. This is his last movie to be released in theaters. He passed away in 2016. This movie was completed in 2017 and finally released last weekend, almost 2 years after his death.
This is a limited release film that sort of fell through the cracks.
Thoroughbreds is about two upper-class teenage girls who find themselves plotting and scheming to get what they want in their troubled home-life.
The movie was written and directed by Cory Finley and the noteworthy cast includes Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin, and Paul Spark.
Thoroughbreds is a unique movie in a lot of ways. It is a well-written, dialogue driven thriller. There is a naturally chilling pace to the story. Everything seems relevant. It does not try too hard to impress and therefore, is impressive. The story is just told with precise timing. Even the cinematography was tactful and articulate in an almost, but not quite, Hitchcockian manner. This movie did not just go through the motions. It was premeditated and executed beautifully.
The soundtrack, although odd at times, matched the disturbing nature of the story.
Thoroughbreds was an opportunity for a couple of mostly small screen, lesser known actors to show their worth and carry a film themselves. They all showed that they were up to that task. I feel like they were quite successful in making the transition from small screen to big screen right before our very eyes. Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Paul Sparks were all superb. Olivia Cooke’s performance especially stood out. I guarantee that all three of these actors will start popping up all over the place in the near future.
I think that it is an odd coincidence that Anton Yelchin plays a troubled character in each of his last three films before he died. I also still think it was quite suspicious the way that he died.
I always enjoyed Anton as an actor and it seemed as if he had a very bright future ahead of him. It is a shame to see such a nice personality lost to this world, far too soon at the young age of 27. He had been acting for 16 years. He successfully bridged the gap from kid actor to adult actor and had the potential for so much more. He will be missed.
Thoroughbreds would probably have been more successful if it were released years ago. Today’s audiences do not have the attention span for real filmmaking anymore, it seems. This is the unfortunate truth. The depth of this movie will likely not be appreciated by many for what it actually is, a diamond in the rough.
I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
If you liked this film then you might also enjoy:
Heathers (1988)
A Perfect Murder (1998)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Bully (2001)
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