100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 97: The Maze Runner

Director: Wes Ball

Genre: Action/ Science Fiction/ Thriller

Runtime: 114 minutes

Year: 2014

Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Dexter Darden, Kaya Scodelario, Chris Sheffield, Joe Adler, Alexander Flores, Jacob Latimore, Randall D. Cunningham, Patricia Clarkson, Don McManus, Michael Bow, Jerry Clark, Michael Deville, Dylan Gaspard

Description: Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape.

Review: Since the “Harry Potter” movies, the adaptations of the “Twilight” films and the movies of “The Hunger Games” series, the young adult films have become a new subgenre. Themes as friendship, love and the fight between good and bad are illustrated. I didn’t like the book that this movie, “The Maze Runner”, is based on. I was skeptical about it, but it was better than I thought it would be.

In the opening of the film, the audience is right in the middle of all the action. After a ride in a dark elevator, protagonist Thomas ends up in a strange place surrounded by walls. A group of boys his age are looking at him. Nobody knows why they are there. The walls they are surrounded by form a maze. A select group of boys, called runners, is allowed to enter that maze. Maybe they find clues or even a way out, but no one has found out anything important yet. And at night the search is even harder because of the grievers, robotic insect like creatures. Everything becomes even more complicated when another new victim arrives, the first girl.

“The Maze Runner” follows a different structure than most young adult films. Not just a story that goes from A to B. The maze adds a lot of mystery to it all and you feel involved in the puzzle the boys are trying to solve. The movie isn’t all that predictable.

The problem I have with the movie, that I also had with the book, are the characters. The story has no memorable characters, like for instance Harry Potter or Katniss Everdeen are. If you ask me to name five, I think I won’t manage.

“The Maze Runner” is better than I expected it to be. I didn’t like the book and didn’t want to read any of the sequels. I actually do want to see the second film.

Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (131)

Here are this weeks trailers.

The Maze Runner
Description: When Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) wakes up trapped in a massive maze with a group of other boys, he has no memory of the outside world other than strange dreams about a mysterious organization known as W.C.K.D. Only by piecing together fragments of his past with clues he discovers in the maze can Thomas hope to uncover his true purpose and a way to escape.
Director: Wes Ball
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Aml Ameen
Trailer: Trailer "The Maze Runner"
Comment: I didn't really like the book, but the movie trailer looks more exciting.

The Giver
Description:The story centers on Jonas (Brenton Thwaites), who lives in a seemingly ideal, if colorless, world of conformity and contentment. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community.
Director: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Brenton Thwaites, Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes and Taylor Swift
Trailer: Trailer "The Giver"
Comment: I didn't even know about this movie, that it was in the making. It actually looks pretty good.

The Fault in Our Stars
Description: Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and Gus (Ansel Elgort) are two extraordinary teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them, and us, on an unforgettable journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that they met and fell in love at a cancer support group. "The Fault in Our Stars," based upon the number-one bestselling novel by John Green, explores the funny, thrilling and tragic business of being alive and in love.
Director: Josh Boone
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Willem Dafoe, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Mike Birbiglia, Emily Peachey
Trailer: Trailer "The Fault in Our Stars"
Comment: I never read the book, but now I want to!

A Birder's Guide to Everything
Description: David Portnoy (Kodi Smith-McPhee), a 15-year-old birding fanatic, thinks that he's made the discovery of a lifetime. So, on the eve of his father's remarriage, he escapes on an epic road trip with his best friends to solidify their place in birding history.
Director: Rob Meyer
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, James Le Gros, Alex Wolff, Katie Chang, Ben Kingsley
Trailer: Trailer "A Birder's Guide to Everything"
Comment: Looks fun.

Brick Mansions
Description: An undercover cop (Paul Walker) tries to take down a ruthless crime lord with access to a neutron bomb by infiltrating his gang.
Director: Camille Delamarre
Starring: Paul Walker, David Belle, RZA
Trailer: Trailer "Brick Mansions"
Comment: I posted this trailer out of respect for Paul Walker, but I probably won't see this film.

50 Books Challenge 2012 - # 20: The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Maze Runner # 1)

Title: The Maze Runner (Maze Runner # 1)
Author: James Dashner
Story: When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift. Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.
Start: may 6st 2012
End: may 13th 2012
Comment: I read so many good reviews about "The Maze Runner" and I was compared to "The Hunger Games" trilogy that I just had to read it. Because of all this I feel really sorry about writing this review. I wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't. The story sounded so interesting. It starts out that way. You feel just like Thomas, you don't know what's happening. It's a great opening, but unfortunately the rest of the book wasn't. It was kind of slow and sometimes even a bit boring and that's really sad because this plot could be very action packed. What I missed the most was interesting characters. None of the characters spoke to me, I couldn't relate to them and there was no character development what so ever. I think that's really important. I was also a but annoyed by the made up slang. At first it was funny, but it started bugging me. I gave this book two stars because the plot was original, I liked the mystery and the ending was good. I can understand why so many people like it, but please don't compare it to "The Hunger Games" again.
Rating: 2/ 5