'The Maze Runner' Movie Review (SPOILER FREE)

On August 24^th of 2014, I woke up to an invitation to go to an advance screening of “The Maze Runner”. After finding two friends to attend with me, we rushed downtown right after school and waited in a line for 3 hours. Both of my friends have read “The Maze Runner”, but my friend Alli read the entire trilogy and the prequel. I can confirm that she is a hardcore fan of James Dashner, as she remarked once “He’s one of my favorite writers” and my other friend, Steven said “It was the only book I read”. I asked my two friends if they could tell me their thoughts on the movie after it’s over, because unlike them, I didn't read the book… yet. They both replied with “of course”. This is actually my first time not reading the book before the movie adaption. I wanted to get that “I didn't read the book, but I saw the movie and read it afterwards” feeling. I wanted to make sure I wasn't anticipating anything and didn't have any expectations, because when a movie adaption of a book you love doesn't meet your expectations, it sucks. However, I did have a trustworthy Dashner fan and a brain filled with background knowledge of the film, so I felt prepared.

“The Maze Runner” is the first installation of the post-apocalyptic science fiction trilogy. Yes, there will definitely be two more movies and maybe a prequel if the trilogy does well, which I’m highly assuming it will. “The Maze Runner” is about a boy named Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) who, after being unconscious, wakes up without any memory of his past and how he got to where he is now, which is a place called The Glade. The Glade is the center of a maze, in which dangerous creatures called Grievers reside. The Glade is inhabited by a large group of boys of all ages and they all have no memory of their previous life. The doors to the maze open periodically and as a group, the boys try to find a way to escape, but no luck has come. The boys also warn Thomas that every boy that stayed in the maze overnight, never survived. But things begin to change when the latest arrival to The Glade is a girl, Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), whose thoughts Thomas can read. Together, they bond and, along with the other boys, they .search for a plan to escape.

The movie started off exactly how the book did (from the five chapters that I've read), with anticipation, rapid heart-beating, and a big gasp of air from Thomas and the audience. The very first scene was quick and altered a little but everything made sense. The good part about this movie is that you don’t get confused easily or quickly. But the bad part about the movie and maybe my only disappointment is that in numerous scenes, it was too dark for me to actually see what was going on. For example, when Thomas is running away from a Griever, all I could see was movement. I’m not sure if it was just the theater I was in or if it really is like that, but it bothered me so much.

The entire… yes entire movie is taken place inside The Glade and inside the maze, which is basically part of The Glade. Not to spoil anything, but yes, there are exactly 2 scenes where they’re actually not in The Glade, but it doesn't really make a big difference. Luckily, I didn't find that part annoying. Some people might, but there was so much action going on that I didn't notice.

The relationships in the movie were small and weren't specifically praised, but I felt that Thomas’s friendship with Chuck (Blake Cooper) was important. The conversation between an older individual and a younger one might not be taken into notice, but the bond they had was significant. I teared up at a discussion they had about what they thought their parents were like. Their relationship was a typical brother bond, but it almost felt like they were real brothers and I praise O’Brien and Cooper’s performance. Another relationship in the film was Thomas and Teresa’s. I can’t say they actually have a relationship, but they do have a connection. In the book, Thomas could read her mind and vice versa. In the movie, they dampened the subject and made it completely irrelevant, which as told by my friend Alli was “… completely important in the next book”.

Overall, the movie was shockingly good. My friends said "It was a great movie. I followed the book pretty well. It left out one or two minor details, but that was okay". With its male dominating cast and dull setting, the greatest outcomes it had were its’ special effects and acting. Will Poulter, who played Gally, was Thomas’s enemy. Poulter has played a wicked boy with snarky remarks before like in, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, but that was when he was younger. Now, at the age of 21, Poulter has showed how a real bully behaves. I couldn't believe that the boy who made me laugh in “We’re The Millers” made me want to shout at him in this movie.

I give this movie 3½ shouting Dylan O'Briens

“The Maze Runner” comes out in theaters September 19^th of 2014. Go see it if you like action, sci-fi, cute boys and a powerful girl.

Another great opportunity that happened only two weeks later was that the stars of “The Maze Runner” came to visit my high school on September 4. Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario and Will Poulter appeared in front of what seemed like hundreds of screaming boys and girls, who desperately tried to take a good picture of them on the tiny stage. The appearance, originally held for acting and English classes to attend, was a short 30 minute Q&A. They presented an extended version of “The Maze Runner” trailer and then the cast came out and answered questions about the movie and acting. At one point, the crowd asked Poulter to sing (because in “We’re The Millers” he hilariously rapped the lyrics to “Waterfalls” by TLC) but he kindly declined. After the half hour, they explained that they needed to catch a flight (assumingly to Dallas because it was next on their tour). 

Photo credit to Karina

'If I Stay' Movie Review (SPOILER FREE)

On July 30th of 2014, I was lucky enough to attend the "If I Stay" tour. At the tour, which was held at Sprinkles Cupcakes in Chicago, I met the lead actress in the film, Chloë Grace Moretz and the author of the book, Gayle Forman. After the meet up and book signing, I had to rush over to the movie theater where an advance screening of the movie was being held. After watching it, a Q&A was held with Moretz and Forman, where they discussed the movie adaption of Forman's book.

I read Gayle Forman’s novel “If I Stay” about six years ago, when it was first published in 2009. At the age of eleven, my three friends and I shared one book and discussed the happy, funny, and sad parts in it. “If I Stay” is about a 17 year old girl, Mia Hall (Moretz) who is an inspiring cellist and has a rocker boyfriend, Adam (Jamie Blackley) who has his own band. It follows her as she deals with the aftermath of a tragic car accident involving her and her family. While she’s in a coma, she has an out-of-body experience. She observes her family and friends in the hospital while she is being treated. As she watches them, her memories flash before her eyes. She realizes that she must come to a decision on whether or not she should wake up and stay with her family and friends or slip further away and die.

The movie was overall one of the best adaptions anyone could ever make of a book. The book alone already had a simple plot, right? No. It actually had a difficult plot. It was hard to keep up with Mia in the present and the past. The movie made it easier to understand. Moretz was dressed in pale colors to create an ethereal appearance and in her flashbacks she dressed in dark, winter colors. The flashbacks offered insight into Mia’s life with her friend, Kim (Liana Liberato), boyfriend, her family and her love for the cello. However, a majority of the movie was focused solely on Mia and her relationship with her boyfriend Adam. The scenes started with how they met, and then continued with their first date, kiss, college decisions, and fight. The on-screen couple was cute and adoring to each other, but made it annoying at some times and to be blunt... boring. The movie was 75% about Mia and Adam and 25% about how Mia felt about her family in the hospital. To compare the book and the movie, Mia (in the book) was extremely worried about her family, especially her younger brother, Teddy (Jakob Davies). In the movie, it appeared that Mia only cared 75% about her boyfriend and 25% about her family, especially her parents.

Music played an important aspect in the film because it was a major factor in Mia’s life; her whole entire being was filled with musical strings. The music in the movie set the tone of an upbeat and moving film, which wasn't exactly the case. The movie wasn't set out to be a melodramatic film about a girl in a coma, but the music made up for that. Adam’s band plus Beethoven might equal a weird combination but it didn't. The soundtrack is without a better word, surprising. Adam is supposed to be a rock god, but he sings pop rock-ish (alternative)? In my opinion, Adam would have been even more perfect if he actually sang hardcore rock music, because I can’t even begin to explain how many times Mia called him a “rocker” or “rock god” in the movie and book.

Jamie Blackley... Adam Wilde... 

Blackley was the perfect Adam because he was Adam. Blackley grabbed Adam by his old, dirty ACDC tee shirt and said “I am going to be you”. That was how good Blackley’s acting was. I praise Blackley, and him alone, because he pulled off a “cheesy role”. Adam is a stereotypical “guy in a band with absentee parents” character. Blackley was able to envelope this character and make it him. So in other words, he gave the impression of a guy with a romantic side, confidence, a soulful voice, hair that isn’t great but not hideous and a tough childhood instead of a stereotypical “guy in a band with absentee parents” character.

“If I Stay” was surprising good, but dull in some parts. It was like my favorite sandwich: peanut butter and Nutella. It looks bad, but it’s actually great. Inside the sandwich, it could have less Nutella and peanut butter in it and it was incredibly gooey, but it’s still good. Moretz's performance showed a side of her the audience doesn't get to see too often: girly and innocent. This film was definitely a good way to flaunt that side of her, but sometimes, we don’t need to see it. She seemed so sweet and innocent, that she came off a little fake. My mother who went to the advance screening with me cried throughout the movie but commented that Moretz wasn't “convincing enough in certain scenes”. But don’t fret, my mother did say that “[Moretz] really looked like she was playing the cello!” and later asked me if she really was. She wasn't.

I give this movie 3½ Jamie Blackleys

There’s still time to see “If I Stay” and read the book! Go right away to your nearest theater or bookstore if you want to see a movie or read a book that will make you laugh, cry and smile all giddy with happiness.