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.        

Movie: The Machinist = 68/100

The Machinist is a bit older than the other movies that I have reviewed, but I just watched it for the first time and I thought it deserved a review.  It was a very interesting movie with a very unsatisfying plot and very little recognition.  However, if I was judging the movie by the dedication of the lead actor, I would give it a 100 out of 100. 

Christian Bale is a method actor, which means that he takes the character that he is trying to portray, and tries to make himself mentally and physically similar to that character.  This acting technique makes the characters seem more realistic.  In this movie Christian was playing an insomniac that didn’t eat much and was antisocial.  In order to play this character Christian cut himself off from any social activity.  This gave him the mentality of the character, but perhaps what was more impressive was the physical dedication Christian put into becoming the main character of The Machinist.  Before preparing for the movie Christian weighed a little over 170 pounds.  With the combination of intense cardio workouts and a borderline dangerous diet.  He dropped down to 120lbs, which is a dangerous weight for a 6’ tall actor.

The point that I am trying to make is that Christian Bale is an incredibly talented and dedicated actor.  Unfortunately the ending of the movie was not that great and was not worthy of all of the work that Christian put into.

Movie: Inside Out = 95/100

                At a certain point every child struggles to understand how their body works.  One of the more difficult to understand body parts is the brain.  How does the brain control the rest of the body, why do some memories stick out more than others, and what causes emotions are only a few of the questions that might cross a child's mind.  The movie Inside Out perfectly captures how an adolescent's imagination would justify the interworkings of their brain.  I personally remember having the thought of little people inside my head controlling my actions and emotions.  It was a fun way to understand anatomy.

                This movie was another box office hit for Pixar.  However I think this movie stuck out from the others because of the theme.  Inside Out had a very relatable theme for any person that had gone through a large change in the early years of their life.  It was a very motivational theme, unfortunately I don't want to discuss it at length because it is closely intertwined with the plot and ending of the story, and I don't want to ruin the story for anyone that hasn't seen it.

                If you want to smile, and are looking for a movie that will make you feel good by the end I would highly recommend you see this film.         

Movie: Tomorrowland = 96/100

               At first I was a little skeptical about this movie, because it is based on the Tomorrowland section of Disney World.  Then I remembered another movie based on a Disney World ride, Pirates of the Caribbean , and I started to get excited for the film. 

               The story was simple enough to entertain a child but complicated enough to entertain an adult.  There were no major plot holes in the story and the plot line flowed pretty well.  However the reason that I like this movie so much is because it appealed to the twelve year old in my mind.  My favorite movie growing up was Back to the Future Part Two.  At that age I loved anything that had to do with the future, and Back to the Future Part Two had flying cars, robots and holograms.  Tomorrowland had all of that and more, plus the special effects were far superior.  The movie brought me back to a simpler time in my life, for that reason I am extremely biased toward this movie.  Other people may not rate it as high as I did, but that is there opinion and they are entitled to it.

               If Tomorrowland had come out when I was younger it would have been my favorite movie without question.  The only reason it didn't receive a score of one hundred is because I wish it could have been longer. 

Movie: Avengers Age of Ultron = 79/100

I was very excited to see Avengers Age of Ultron, and maybe it was my high expectations that made it seem subpar.  To me the movie felt as if it dragged on to the point where it was so long that I was just anxious to get out of the movie theater.  This was strange to me.  I can usually make it through long movies with more ease that the people around me.  I have watched the extend cut of the Lord of the Rings series about seven times now, and the shortest one is still much longer that the Avengers.  This leads me to believe that Avengers was not an engaging film.

Like most other superhero movies, Avengers focused the plot around action.  However this movie seemed to do it in a way that took away from the plot.  It was as if the writers made a list of action scenes then sewed them together with a weak plot.  The plot only seemed to be there to justify the next action fight scene. 

However, this movie series is meant to be packed with action.  I have been to many superhero movies with my friends.  Most of the time we will disagree if a movie was good or not.  If I think a movie has a good plot, they will think it didn’t have enough action.  If they think the movie was good, I will say there was not a good plot.

In a way Avengers age of Ultron satisfied a lot of their viewers by really pilling on the action.  But I do not go to the movies to see explosions; I want to see a good plot.  

Movie: Boyhood = 90/100

               If movies were ranked on the time they took to complete and the dedication of their actors then Boyhood would be the number one movie in existence.  The concept of this movie was to film a boy as he grew into a man.  However the producers of Boyhood took this concept to a new level by recruiting actors that were willing to partake in the filming of a movie that spanned over a decade.

               The story had many interesting messages and kept the audience engaged throughout the movie.  One of the more interesting themes was focused on maturity.  The main character was close with both his parents.  However his parents were divorced because the father was not mature.  However as time went on the father matured, remarried and started a new family.  He mentioned near the end of  the movie that he became the man that the main characters mother wanted him to be, and if she had been patient they could have still been together.  Another interesting theme was the positive impact that a divorced father could have on his children.  Many movies depict divorced fathers to be abusive or drunk.  But in this movie it was the step fathers that were depicted as abusive or drunk.  So the roles were switched.

               This movie was unique and motivational.  It deserved more praise than it received and should be seen by ever person that is going through or has gone through a rough childhood.

Movie: Paper Towns = 85/100

               Personally I am not a huge fan of a story that starts with an act of revenge.  Usually the movies that do this revolve the entire story around the act of revenge, which makes them seem predictable.  For example a common plot structure for these types of stories would be to have the person who was being pranked realize who was taking revenge on them.  Then a competition starts between the two parties to see who can get the last prank in.

               Paper towns started with a vengeful act, but then the story moved on to a new topic rather quickly.  The odd thing was that all of the people that had been pranked knew exactly who had pranked them (The Protagonist).  Yet the story had a built in safety that pushed what was the main plot to the backburner.  Then a new plot line emerged from it. 
              
               The main plot was not predictable in any way, which made it enjoyable.  A few of the sub plots were predictable but it was ok because they were mostly used as tools to show time passage and character development.  A lot seemed to happen within a short period of time which is good because the plot was never dull.  It was a good story and I would recommend the movie, and possibly the book, if it is anything like the movie.

Movie: Jurassic World = 87/100

If you enjoy action on top of action then Jurassic World is the movie for you.  Unfortunately, I do not enjoy movies that make me want to yell at the characters for doing something that any human with a quarter of a brain would know not to do.  For example, any human that was in an amusement park full of dinosaurs would understand that an alarm means to stop the ride they are on and turn around (especially if the computers are also telling them to turn around).  But, somehow the characters in this movie could justify going into a restricted area while the alarm was going off. 

I understand that all moves need to force their characters to do things that might not make complete sense in order to push the story forward.  If everyone did what they were supposed to do, then everyone would be safe and the story would stink.  However Jurassic World had many other plot options that could have still pushed the story forward.  Yet, they decided to use the one that made the least sense.  In all honesty most people probably paid no mind to this plot hole… because it was overshadowed by the dinosaurs! 

I might have even been able to accept it, if the characters had gone into the restricted zone before the alarm went off.  Maybe they got lost and couldn’t find their way back when the alarm sounded.

Again if you like action then you will love this movie, and you will love it even more if you don’t care about plot holes.  Some people are saying that they liked the first three movies better because this sequel's plot focused around creating a new dinosaur, which was too farfetched.  But honestly the whole series is based on exaggerated science so I think the argument is a bit shaky.  After all if people really cared about the practicality of the movie's plot, it would not have broken records in the box offices.