This week at the movies there are three movies based on books: You mean, people in Hollywood read? Shocking, right? Teens battle a maze, Liam Neeson beats every one up (again), and Jason Bateman sits Shiva.
The Maze Runner
Lord of the Flies meets …. a maze? The Maze Runner is about a group of preteen and teen boys who are held captive by a gargantuan stone maze which seems to be controlled by unforeseen forces. If you try to get through the maze, you’ll most certainly be crushed by the moving slabs of concrete. Every so often a new member is introduced to the group; the latest, Thomas, can’t remember anything before the Maze, but he knows he has to help everyone escape. Based on the novel by James Dashner.
Perfect For: Fans of the Hunger Games, Enders Game, Insurgent.
What the Critics Say: Actually, surprisingly good! Writes Variety: “As world-creation YA pictures go, "The Maze Runner" feels refreshingly low-tech and properly story-driven, based on James Dashner's popular 2009 fantasy novel.”
And says the Seattle Times: “Rare is the movie based on a best-seller that is vastly superior to the book that inspired it. "The Maze Runner" is just such a rarity.”
Our Take: Perhaps this is worth your time. It’s intriguing.
Watch the Trailer:
A Walk Among the Tombstones
When did Liam Neeson become an action hero? Better still, why? Sure, he’s a big, tall man, and he has gravitas. But, he’s old, 62. He’s basically a senior citizen. Yet, apparently, he’s what audiences want to see. In his latest turn as a guy who catches bad guys, he stars as an ex-cop-turned-private investigator hired to find out who killed the wife of a heroin trafficker. He ends up finding out too much, and things go dangerously askew. Don’t worry! Liam to the rescue!
Perfect For: Fans of movies like Sin City and the Bourne series. A bit on the noir-ish side.
What the Critics Say: Meh. Writes the AV Club: “None of the people or places the imposing, gravelly-voiced hero visits would seem out of place in a middling episode of Law & Order: SVU.
Our Take: Nah. There are better flicks to go see.
Watch the Trailer:
This is Where I Leave You
All-star ensemble cast featuring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, and Connie Britton, star in this story based on a bestseller by the same name. The premise: a family that hasn’t seen each other in a long time (and doesn’t particularly get along) must come together after the patriarch dies and sit Shiva (a Jewish tradition of mourning for seven days).
Perfect For: You like dysfunctional family comedy-dramas along the lines of The Family Stone.
What the Critics Say: A missed opportunity. Entertainment Weekly: The movie is so festooned with clichés it proves that Tolstoy was dead wrong when he wrote that every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Hollywood Reporter: Everyone here is obnoxious to one degree or another, but enough of it is amusing in an appalling sort of way that it's difficult to not be at least partly won over by the brashness of the compulsively uncensored talk and behavior.
Our Take: Well, the trailer looked funny.
Watch the Trailer:
