Movie: Maze Runner = 88/100

               Ever since the first Hunger Games movie came out there has been a huge increase in movie series that take place in a non-ideal and not too distant future.  I just assumed that Maze Runner was another attempt for an author to jump on the Hunger Games bandwagon.  But after watching Maze Runner I realized that it was nothing like the Hunger Games. 

               The Hunger Games series is a dystopia.  This means that some aspect of the future seems appealing, which would be the Capital in the case of the Hunger Games.  But the appealing aspect is only made possible through the suffering of the majority of the population.  Maze Runner on the other hand has no appealing aspect to it which make it less of a dystopia and more of a post apocalyptic story.   

               I actually really enjoyed this movie.  It was a truly unique film and keep me wondering throughout its duration.  It may seem a little rushed but I believe that is only because they forced an entire book into a movie.  There was a lot that they needed to cover and they managed to do it in an appealing way.  I would highly recommend this movie to anyone that enjoys action movies with a good story.

Movie: The Hunger Games - Mockingjay - Part 2 = 92/100

               I really disliked the third Hunger Games book,  but for some reason I thought the movie representation of the book was awesome.  It was possibly the best movie of the series.  After thinking about it for a while I realized that it had to do with the difference in perspective.

               All of the Hunger Games series was written in first person.  This is extremely difficult to portray a war movie with, because there are multiple important groups of people that contribute to a war.  However the book only gave the part of the story that involved Katniss.  The movie on the other hand showed the perspective of both of the leaders  of the war as well as Katniss.  This helped to broaden the scope of the story. 

               Overall, I thought it was a good conclusion to series.  It covered all of the important aspects of the story and had enough detail to satisfy all of the book fans.  I would highly recommend this movie to anyone that enjoys action movies with a good story.

Movie: Black Mass = 90/100

               I remember when I first heard the story of James Whitey Bulger.  It was a headline in the newspaper that my dad was reading.  For this reason I was excited by the Black Mass movie preview.  I was eager to see what events lead up to his capture, and what made him one of the most wanted gangsters of all time.

               The movie was disturbing in many ways.  But it was disturbing in a means that made it impressive when considering that it was a true story.  Part of the reason that the movie gave out such a creepy vibe was due to the amazing acting skills of Johnny Depp.  He has played many interesting and unique rolls over the past decade, and this movie was no different. 

               The movie was not completely focused on gangsters.  A lot of it was focused on the relationship that Jimmy Bulger had with the FBI.  He used this relationship to eluded capture which made for an astonishing story of corruption and power.  It has definitely earned a top spot on my gangster movie list.

Movie: Ant-Man = 76/100

               Many of my friends loved this movie.  They said it was the perfect combination of action and comedy.  So when I went into the theater to see it I thought it was going to be extremely funny.  Honestly, it was not.

               Most of the jokes seemed corny or forced.  However it was still a very interesting and unique superhero movie.  Usually superheroes have interesting upbringings.  Many of them are rich, and they use that money to fund their superhero outings.   Not many of the superhero comics that are made into movies have heroes that are criminals.  This movie literally starts in prison.

               I would recommend this movie to anyone that likes superhero movies.  However, if a comedy is what you are looking for, then this is not the movie for you. 

Movie: Everest = 88/100

There was something that I didn't like about this movie.  I think it was the ending.  However since it was a true story I didn't want to give it a lower score just because it didn't have the happy ending that I wanted.  For this reason I disregarded the ending when considering the score of this movie.

               My entire life, I thought that the hardest part of climbing Mt. Everest was the lack of oxygen near the top.  I didn't realize everything else that went into it.  I mean I knew it was really cold there, but I didn't realize that there were bottomless chasms that had to be crossed using nothing but a latter being held in place by a few ropes.  It was a very educational movie that was very well disguised in action, drama, and suspense.  However, like in most true movies the whole story changed based on one decision.

               I would recommend the movie  to people that like nature.  There was some amazing cinematography in the movie and the wide shots were breathtaking.  I imagine that the movie would be less stunning being played on anything smaller that a movie theater screen, but it is still worth a watch.

Movie: No Escape = 90/100

I went into my local theater not expecting much from this movie.  I hadn’t heard any good reviews and it didn’t get much recognition from the media.  But as the movie started my interest grew.  The characters were very relatable, and they were thrown into a situation that seemed like it could actually happen.

            The movie was about a family that moved to an Asia country on the brink of revolution.  One day after they arrived, the revolution started and this family had to find a way to survive and make their way to safety.  The previews of the movie were good but it made the movie seem like an action pack shooting movie.  But really there were a lot of emotional moments throughout the movie.  The main character had two daughters and exposing their innocence to the reality of the world was often the source of emotion. 

The person that I went to the movie with said that see was surprised that any parent would actually let their daughter act in a movie like that.  It really hit her deep and that is the reason why I think the movie was so great.  Any movie that forces a person to fell something is a good movie in my book.

Movie: Terminator Genisys = 97/100

I don’t think they could have ended the terminator franchise in a better way.  I have always loved these movies.  The plot is very in depth and requires some thinking to be completely understood.  To me a move that makes a person think is a move that is worth seeing. 

In the final installment of the terminator series they go back to the basics, literally.  Some parts of the story takes place during the exact same time period that the first movie was set in.  There is even a fight scene between the Arnold Schwarzenegger from the original Terminator and the current Arnold.  I am still not sure how they did it.  For those of you that are worried that I am giving away the plot, I assure you that the examples I have given were in the previews.

This movie is by far the best of the franchise.  It incorporated all of the best parts of the prior installments.  That includes many of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best quotes.  Then they added even more Terminatoresque material to make sure that every Terminator fan left the theatre Satisfied.  If you have not seen any terminator movies I would recommend that you do not see this movie.  However I also recommend that you binge watch all the movies then go to the theatre to see this movie.  It is an extremely satisfying end to the series.