READY PLAYER ONE...YES I AM

   Steven Spielberg has earned his place as one of history's greatest directors. E.T., Indiana Jones, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park,  and I could go on and on. He now is tasked with developing the popular Ernest Cline Novel, Ready Player One. Video games are a tough sell for the adult audience, but this time around could be different. Ready Player One is pure nostalgic yet futuristic fun! I am getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the beginning.

   2045 and the world is a different place. Especially in an over crowded trailer park in Columbus,OH.  The world's population spends the majority of its time in virtual reality. Everyone has an avatar. A video game version of themselves that usually looks vastly different. They all occupy a world called The Oasis. Wade Watts ( Tye Sheridan) discovers clues to a hidden game within the program that promises the winner full ownership of the OASIS. He joins several allies to try to complete the game before indentured players working for a large company, run by Nolan Sorrento ( Ben Mendelsohn), can do so.

 It has been awhile since I have had this much fun in a movie. Yes it is a lot of CGI. It has very cheesy moments and conveys a message. It was just fun. The video game world is filled with pop culture characters and references. The sound track is amazing. The best since the first Guardians of the Galaxy. 

 I was on sensory overload trying to see all the characters and references packed into this thing! Street Fighter, Ninja Turtles, Thundercats, and the list goes on and on. The plot is fairly simple and easy to follow. It is a throwback to a time when the story was simple. 

 Ben Mendelsohn does it again. He was great in Rogue One as the bad guy and is perfectly cast here. I love villains that have the right blend of likeability and sinister. You never root for him, but you want him to get what he deserves. 

    Overall, the cast is solid. I am not a fan of Tye Sheridan, but he is surrounded by the right people. There is a twist to one of the characters that I won't spoil, but it was fun. It plays well with the tone of the story and isn't forced at all.  T.J. Miller is great as the henchman. We never see the reveal of his human character and I wonder if that was intentional given the bad accusations that surround him. 

  Ready Player One does what it is supposed to do. It makes you forget about life for a couple of hours. It doesn't try to hard. It is beautiful to look at and most of all, it is fun! You might not catch all of the references on the first watch, but it is fun trying.  Suspend belief, enjoy the nostalgia, and play this game. Well, watch this movie. 

Tomb Raider and The Video Game Adaption Curse.

    Movies based on video games have a rough go of it at the box office. We are a few weeks away from the Rock trying to break that curse with Rampage, but first we get a new Tomb Raider. This franchise had a go in the early 2000's with Angelina Jolie. Needless to say, those films met mixed reviews at best.  This time, there is no Angelina. It is largely a cast of actors that we have seen before, but are not exactly household names.  Alicia Vikander takes on the title role in this complete reboot.
At a time when girl power is at an all time high, we get a new Lara Croft. Can the reboot break the curse and capitalize on the success of Wonder Woman? Let's see.

   A younger Lara Croft has not claimed the wealth that her father left behind. She trains in mixed martial arts and is employed as a bike messenger. Refusing to sign the paperwork declaring her father dead, she struggles to make ends meet. She soon learns that her father was more than a buisness man. She begins to question his death and sets out to solve the mystery of his whereabouts. After finding a map and his journal, she sets off on an adventure. Young Lara must push herself beyond her limits to save the world from an ancient evil.

  Alicia Vikander shines. She is smaller in build than the video game character, but you do believe her as Lara Croft. The girl definitely has an it factor. The problem with Tomb Raider is pacing. The action scenes are great, but they are clumped together.  You go from all, to nothing, and then back to all. It just feels rushed at times and then long slow periods between action.  The rest of the cast is also kind of wasted.

  Walton Goggins is terrific actor. He can do comedy like in Vice Principals, drama like Justified, and can be the villain like he is here. I just felt like he wasn't over the top enough. You never really care about him. He comes across more as a background henchman then the big bad of the film.  It's a shame because with a little better writing, he could have been a great casting choice.

 If you have ever seen an episode of  Into The Badlands, then you know exactly how bad ass Daniel Wu is. He is completely wasted here. I realize you don't want him to save the day. You can't take that away from Lara Croft, but he never gets a true moment to shine. That is a true shame.

  The visuals are cool. The scene on the boat is done very well and so is the waterfall. The movie also makes some faithful nods to the video game. The problem is that it just doesn't feel big enough. I like the casting of Vikander and hope we get to see her as Lara Croft again. I am just not sure that we will. I think Tomb Raider is a step in the right direction where video game adaptions. I just don't feel that it is good enough to break that curse or the box office.  Fun to watch, better than I expected, but only slightly above average.