The Maze Runner (2014) – Ratings Genre: 4/5, Overall 3/5

It is ok for me to admit that The Maze Runner delivered more than what I expected. After a brief glance over the plot I set my self to witness another Hunger Games movie but what I got was something more thrilling, gripping and a suspenseful experience. Being said that The Maze Runner is not a fresh approach to a plot or Sci Fi nature. And it is based on James Dashner's 2009 novel of the same name.

There has being many mind boggling cinema on certain mazes (or traps true or imagery) and escaping from it including Cube (1997), Inception (2010) and Pans Labyrinth (2006) to name a few and each delivered a very powerful cinema experience. Standing against great movies like what I have mentioned earlier The Maze Runner is still has a long way to go being this is the first of a sequel of movies we are about to see in the coming years. But talking of this one alone it had done a pretty decent job.

­­­

Thomas our 16-year-old hero wakes up in a strange place without having any memory of his earlier life. He and another group of people who experienced the same are trapped in a glade surrounded by a giant concrete maze. Though finding the way out of the maze and getting back home sounds a good idea the maze comes with many lethal surprises. But it seems like Thomas has some answers and soon the gang realizes that he is different.

For a dystopian sci fi thriller The Maze Runner has some gripping ground to start off with. And the movie steadily evolves within the first hour from nowhere to somewhere and the viewers get to feel the strange and mysterious presence of the maze. There is no scene that I can call as dragging or irrelevant thought they seems slow or not filled with enough action and suspense. But the movie quickly hit a phase of action and adventure and from there the game plan completely changes.  What I really like about The Maze Runner is it’s overall mood. As the viewer just like the people who are trapped in the maze are kept in dark so the same mysteries boggle in every ones minds. It’s as if the viewers also has to find answers to the mysteries and we are left with no options but to try. And at times we are left to make tough choices.

Equipped with strong acting and brilliant CG The Maze Runner is a movie that will keep the viewer engaged every second. And when it finished it opens up a whole lot of new questions while answering only few of the burning ones that was laid out at the start. I guess we have to wait another year to find out what happens next.

Genre: Sci Fi | Thriller | Action | Mystery

Director: Wes Ball

-Priyantha Bandara

Predestination (2014) – Ratings: Genre 4.5/5, Overall 3.5/5

Reviewing this movie is really tricky. Because this movie is not the type that start from the start and end in the end (What am I even saying?). In fact Predestination has no start or an end but though at a glance it does not make any sense it makes a lot of sense once it’s done. Predestination could be one of the best science fiction movies based on time travel and predestination paradox theory and it is truly mind boggling shocking piece. To be honest white it feels like Inception (2010) for a while it is standing inch shorter with Primer (2004). And nothing comes close to the feeling this leave you with once your struck by some completely unexpected ending.

There is no easy way to explain the plot of Predestination. But let me try. An agent who works for a top secret time travelling agency has the challenge to stop a serial bomber who made devastating damage back in 1970s. In one of his crucial visits to the 70s he meets a man who has a very shocking yet interesting story to tell. While this story makes no sense to one person it makes perfect sense to the other.

Obviously the time travelling related theories are pretty complex. And movie makers have come up with lot simpler versions themselves in the name of entertainment. Whatever it is most time travel based movies are quite interesting to watch but hard to explain as such. Predestination is one of those hard to explain type and it is ok to say that it’s different to the usual bunch. Based on a short story “All You Zombies” back in 1958 the Spierig Brothers who directed Predestination has done a fascinating job at it. The sheer style of storytelling makes this movie somewhat unique for a sci fi and takes more of a dramatic approach for a good deal of time. Though more action could have being awesome I’m glad it doesn’t go gun happy like Looper (2012) which again is one of the successful mind bending time travel based sci fi action flick. But the sheer amount of suspense and twists in Predestination make you forget any action for that matter and takes you in a more serious journey through time.

My only worry is the lengthy scenes that take place in a bar that at times feel unfit to be in a sci fi viewing it as a fan of sci fi. But taking the movie as a whole if you managed to get through that phase you will realize that it has a crucial part in making the whole plot up so steady though some of it can be reduced to shorted sizes. It seems like directors were keeping the best for later so patience maybe a good idea.

Finally keeping a note about performances and cinematography both are very well made. Ethan Hawk who plays the time travelling agent does a fine job at it but the real talent is with Sarah Snook who plays the other character. You will not be impressed of both performances instantly but once the show goes knee deep things will looks different. All in all Predestination is a must watch for Sci Fi fans and certain psychological thriller hungry fans.

Genre: Sci Fi | Thriller

Directors: The Spierig Brothers

-Priyantha Bandara

Lucy (2014): Ratings – Genre 3.5/5, Overall 3/5

Based on one of the most commonly believed yet scientifically bogus myth, Lucy builds a truly mind shattering experience which at one point science and mythology becomes one and entertainment emerges. The steady build up of the plot along with the interesting narrative explanation of facts (most of the time is not true but feels like real) and the mix of well executed action sequences makes Lucy a sci fi action hybrid flick that can either go north or south for the fans.

Lucy a carefree students life instantly change when she forcefully turned to a drug mule to a ruthless drug organization. But when the new drug mixes with her system by accident her brain utilization reaches a record high. With her newly discovered mind-body capacity Lucy sets to make things right while she can.

Lucy is not the first movie that worked on the theory of the small percentage of common brain usage. Limitless (2011) did a wonderful job with it and the plot somewhat similar to Lucy when it comes to drug boosting brain activity. However Lucy takes a unique approach at it’s story telling and combined with the appearance of Scarlett Johansson it become more interesting. I don’t think there is a movie fan who don’t like to see Johansson in tight skirts holding two guns and with a heavy does of drugs in her system!

While Lucy is entertaining and provides lot of theories, insights and visually delighting scenes back to back there are many places it doesn’t stand out that well. The most obvious one is the lack of science though Lucy profoundly places it self as a science fiction. What the director Luc Besson has done is picking up a myth and converting it to scientific terms but not scientifically proving a fact. All of the rest is assumptions and eye candy. But the viewers are effortlessly made to overlook the facts and believe in the movie (Just like “Gravity” did so well in 2013) and get involved in the twisted reality. In terms of doing that Lucy is a success. But if it was based more on science based theories than mythology it would have being great. And Lucy is a reminder that not all movies can be like Matrix.

Genre: Sci Fi | Action

Director : Luc Besson

-Priyantha Bandara

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014): Ratings – Genre 5/5, Overall 4/5

Matt Reeves’es vision of science fiction is different to many. His movies take emotions in to count than the pure side of the movies scientific nature. This is well proven with his earlier movies like Cloverfield (2008) and Let Me In (2010). And now he teams up with the writers of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and brings this much improved and very successful sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and it is magnificent. Right from the very beginning to the last scene this movie will take you through an emotional journey of man and ape alike and puts you in a tight spot as a human to determine the fate of things to come and decide write and wrong.

Ten years after the pandemic decease humans are at the brink of extinction. The apes who have survived lives in the woods formed up massive crowds and a form of civilized living. But when the humans bring war to the Apes door step and Apes leadership is questioned, the battle rages.

The very first thing that will blow the minds of the viewer is how insanely good looking this movie is. Thanks to the astounding works of the computer graphics and set creation the green rainy forest and the abandoned dying city both look absolutely realistic. And when the thought provoking plot is mixed up with ultra-realistic expressions of the apes this movie can sink right down in to you. And speaking of the plot it’s carefully written to give the viewer a very good perception of things occurring and the flow is very good.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as a story is completely far-fetched and it is amazing how it works this well. But if you’re expecting more and more battles of large scale and less talk (or sigh language) then it might disappoint you a bit. But never forget that battles are never justifiable without the correct amount of emotions. And here the wait for the final battle is worth every bit of drama and once you realize that the world will never be the same again for Apes and Humans both there is slight hope left for both. And amazingly you might wish that apes will find their peace once again. Make your own judgment of who’s to be blamed, us or our ancestors.

Genre: Action | Drama | Sci fi

Director: Matt Reeves

-Priyantha Bandara

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – Ratings: Overall 3/5 | Genre 4.5/5

Tom Cruise movies sell. I mean they really sell. But when the movie is equally good as Tom himself and it can pull some really mind blowing stunts without making the viewers to worry about the huge plot holes it is definitely a blockbuster. Edge of Tomorrow is a fresh look at the age old sci fi genre that based on alien invasions and courage’s humans who defeat them. And it’s the modern day Independence Day movie and it seriously rocks the foundations of sci fi that came out lately. Huge production, staggering CG and awesome acting makes Edge of Tomorrow one of the best action sci fi’s lately. I wish I can say the same about the plot but though it is amazing at a glance there are plenty of places it fails. But it doesn’t matter when you start to watch because it’s so entertaining that some of your senses get instantly freeze. 

In not so distant future the world is invaded by an alien race known as Mimics. The world is at war and seems like the humans are capable of defeating them. Major Cage (Tom Cruise) who is a publicity agent for the ARMY than a real soldier is sent to the front line of the crucial battle against Mimics without his will. Cage finds himself terrified and helpless when the battle becomes bloodier and a massacre of humans than expected. But coincidentally he discovers a way to manipulate time and relive the same battle and perfect it to realize that the aliens can be defeated using a different strategy. Rita (Emily Blunt) a fellow soldier joins him for the ride. 

The plot here is very creative. When the real time travel or time loop hits the center stage the whole phase and the feel of the movie quickly changes. This is where it gets the true edge against other similar alien invasion movies and the tight grip remains till the very end. While some viewers can be utterly confused by the fact of this time loop and the repeating scenes I’m sure no one would lose interest of the movie because of it. The element of surprise is very good and movie throws in some real candy for the viewers without delays. The flow and the phase is indeed appealing and the peaks and off peaks are well balanced. However as mentioned earlier the plot has many weak points and as a sci fi that makes sense Edge of Tomorrow is far behind. 

Tom has a history of alien invasion movies such as War of the Worlds (2005) and one of my personal favorite Oblivion (2013). Edge of Tomorrow is another jewel for his collection proving that he is still hot as he used to be decades back. Emily Blunt is sharp and very well fit for her role. The duo does a perfect job on the set and they spark while the aliens bleed. 

What makes Edge of Tomorrow is so good is its action and animation. They hit you very unexpectedly and some scenes are so majestic and detailed that you might feel that one viewing is not good enough. Starting from the production to the finishing touch of sound this movie is a true action flick and no one can say otherwise. 

Genre: Action | Sci Fi

Director: Doug Liman

Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina (2007) Ratings: Genre 3.5/5 | Overall 2.5/5

Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina is the brilliant second installment of the Appleseed (2004). It’s a continuation to the futuristic plot surrounding human girl Deunan Knute and her Hybrid worrier boyfriend Brialeos Hecatombcales. This is a continue to the Appleseed (2004) story line by taking it further towards the future and brings in better animation and better actions sequences to life. 

This time Duenan and Brialeos team up with a Bioroid Tereus who is created using DNA of Brialeos. While this takes a toll on both Duenan and Brialeos emotions they keep it aside and fight a common terrorist who threatens to disturb the known life at the Utopian city of Olympus. When the world satellite networks falls on the hand of this high tech and visionary terrorist and humans and bioroids becomes his slaves Olympuse’s own force E.S.W.A.T struggles to save the city. 

There are clear improvements to the animation quality of this movie from its predecessor with more details and more clarity and bigger and better conceptual thinking involved. Even the machinery and the war craft itself has improved. There are few familiar characters continuing their appearance in their new CG form and both Duenan and Brialeos are in their full glory with better detailing. Same goes with action sequences as well. The first half hour of the movie maybe has too much of a dose of action but soon the story falls in to place and calm down a bit. 

Talking of the plot it is slightly less appealing than from its big brother. Maybe since the viewers are already familiar with the base of Appleseed and this movie is not delivering anything extraordinary or surprising. But there is good flow though it has noticeable plot holes and weak points. But the emotions between the two main characters are somewhat deeply revealed and their relationship evolves to a new stage. 

All in all Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina is a clear improvement to its predecessor and worth checking out. As this would be last known installment of the story and the latest installment after this is a prequel. 

Genre: Animation | Action | Sci Fi

Director: Shinji Aramaki

Appleseed (2004) Ratings: Genre 4/5 | Overall 3/5

This certain type of a futuristic sci fi animation is mostly scene from Japanese animation studios and most of them are literally mind blowing. They carry purely creative futuristic settings, technology, action and eye popping details to start with. Though most of the serious sci fi fans will despite the plots in most of them still they are the kind of movies that will keep you engaged for a long time if you are a fan. Appleseed (2004) is one of such wonderful animation movies from Japan and first one of its trilogy. And it’s based on the comic book by the creator of Ghost in the Shell (1995).

Appleseed follows the earth after the 3^rd world war which has almost wiped out the entire economic and social system as we know now. And the world is completely in ruins and several groups keep on fighting for their territories. The war is taken over by high tech machinery and only the bravest fighter’s fights in flesh in the front. And in a distant place a Utopian society exists in harmony with humans and human like half machines knows as bioroids. Worrier Deunan is bought in to this peaceful society from the action packed frontline to realize that her known to have disappeared boy friend Briareos also lives there and he is also a different kind of half machine half human right now. Deunan starts to wonder what purpose she can serve in this society when she soon realizes that the battle for mankind is far from over. 

Appleseed has simply jaw dropping quality animation. It will be the first thing that would grab the viewer from the throat and then the action kicks in. The animation is a mix of 3d and 2d graphics which gives a certain blended beauty. Though this type of action and animation is witnessed earlier Appleseed does it really well. The viewer gets to engulf in a deep and thoughtful plot which reveals with solid explanations to the technology and rational of its existence. If you’re watching a subtitled version this section can be a bit tiresome. (I have seeing both subtitled and English dubbed so I know this for a fact). Though the plot is not perfect it is quite good for a war based action sci fi and it’s entertaining enough. 

With limited character development and superficial plot Appleseed has the potential to fail. Yet I feel like it had done a good job in most legs though it is not perfect. As I have now seeing the trilogy in full I certainly admire it more. This is a good start. 

Directors : Shinji Aramaki , Steven Foster,  Mary Elizabeth McGlynn

Original title: Appurushîdo

Genre: Sci Fi | Action | Animation

Godzilla (2014) Ratings: Genre 3/5 | Overall 2.5/5

Gareth Edwards who is the director of the latest edition of well-known Godzilla seems to be building his career with monsters, aliens and atomic bombs. His previous works give ample evidence for that fact and this time Godzilla comes with a combo of all of those. There are plenty of humongous monster action and earth shattering destruction. Seems to be like demolishing crew has hit the big city and they don’t know where to start or where to end.

I have mixed reactions toward this movie. On one side it is very good with CG and cinematography but on the other side there is nothing much to gain from the plot overall. Though the movie is supposedly centered on Godzilla in most scenes the monster takes a backseat. But that’s not entirely negative as maybe we are to see it in action in movies yet to be made. But for anyone who wanted to see lot of Godzilla in Godzilla will be somewhat disappointed. Maybe this time the movie is more concentrated on creating a Godzilla image in a different way and find its routes with the legendary Godzilla movie character  unless for hardcore fans of the comics and the previous movies for the rest it’s making little sense.

The story goes through several phases and they are not stitched perfectly to have the smoothest of flow. The movie is long and there are plenty of things happening yet we all see where it’s headed. It starts to build a solid plot concentrating on one character but suddenly the batten is handed over to someone else who seems to be less competent and enthusiastic. All of these little things make Godzilla this time quite different than previous ones. It is obvious that the director wanted to build a solid foundation from the point of humans than from the point of the monster itself. But the message will be communicated to different fans differently.

I’m not going to compare the previous Godzilla movies with this one as obviously at this age the industry has evolved quickly and more can be done on the screen. But to answer the question if the Godzilla 2014 has the same amount of heart as previous ones are up to the fans.

Genre: Action | Sci-fi | Thriller

Director: Gareth Edwards

Transcendence (2014) Ratings: Genre 1/5 | Overall 2.5/5

The irony about Transcendence is that it’s all about artificial intelligence but it lacks even the most natural of intelligence completely. Though it starts with a big promise of strong things to come it falls weak and on its knees so fast that once it’s done you realize that Depp has taken you on a joy ride. I cannot exactly say if it’s an entire waste of 120 minutes of your life but it sure does not add any more value to it. Transcendence looks like the big budget disaster of 2014 so far which the crown held by After Earth last year. For some it’s would be ok to argue that the movie was too complicated and it’s only for the thinkers but in my point of view thinking too much about this would only makes you feel sorry for doing it.

When Will Caster (Johnny Depp) who is a renowned scientist in artificial intelligence dies his wife uploads his consciousness to a program expecting that his great knowledge can be harvested for future. As expected Wills consciousness perform brilliantly but evolves in to a greater power and a threat than being an asset. And when he breaks the barriers of nano technology he starts to play god.

The plot clearly has lot of potential. But it’s not something groundbreaking or never heard of before. Therefore Transcendence is already decades late but tries hard to be futuristic. But still it could have being save it if didn’t have some obvious mistakes. There are so many plot holes that make it completely unjustifiable and qualify to be an effective science fiction or a drama. If wish to continue to the end you have to completely withdraw yourself from them and go along. But it’s something not very easy to do. I don’t want to give out any spoilers but keeping the AI part and the nano part aside as they are fictional the stuff that actually happens right now are depicted in a complete bogus manner here. How the story flows and the events taken place is far from its narrative and you can’t really forgive it.

Seems like the cast is a way to salvage it but to be honest nor Depp or Morgan has a strong part to perform so their appearance is a waste. The fans of both will only end up disappointed. And there are some poor looking action scenes that pop up time to time and even that make little sense. The CG is not brilliant and cinematography is mundane. But the hope of the big cast and the plot I somehow went through the whole movie.

Genre: Science Fiction | Drama

Director: Wally Pfister

Robocop (2014) Rating: Genre 3/5 | Overall 2/5

Back in 1987 Robocop was an instant hit. No surprise there as the franchise was clearly a new concept and the era was bringing some good action movies one after the other and Robocop was riding the new wave. After 27 years the half man half mech robot is rebooted and it certainly looks good. Though plot is slightly similar to the original since the new Robocop has vast differences to its presentation my intention here is not to compare the two movies but to concentrate on the new version.

The movie background runs in 2028. American drone and robot technology has evolved in to a stage where their wars off shore are largely handled by unmanned machines. Yet the domestic situation remains hostile to the machines and Omnicorp the large corporate responsible for building the robots are looking for ways to enter the local market. And they find their ticket when Alex Murphy a detective in the police department gets injured in the line of duty. Omnicorp transforms Alex in to a half man half machine Robocop with wrong intentions and Alex starts to disobey his programs letting his human side to take control.

At a glance it’s evident that the CG work done here is outstanding. Not like in the 80s now the industry is well equipped to make Robocop visually beautiful without using much of onset props. Therefore the man in machine looks flawless and the technology looks spick and span. And when the action kicks in it really blasts. Yet what makes the true contribution to the new Robocop is not how it looks but how it feels. The director spends a great deal of time (Almost exactly half of the runtime) conceptualizing and building the background to bring in the hybrid. The viewer gets a full picture of the political situation against the movement and the corporate strategy that goes in to building the Robocop. And giving a solid foundation the story of Alex Murphy is well put and it’s emotional. Though the entire movie is highly predictable there is joys in seeing things unveil.

Maybe the only complain that someone could have including me is the lack of action at the peak. It all seems too easy for a single Robot to bring down a large corporate like Omnicorp. However thinking of the point that this movie is just the start of a new sequel and there might be a next one coming, the lack of action is acceptable. On a final note though Robocop is kind of dumb it’s decent and entertaining. 

Solaris (2004) Rating 3.5/5

The immediate thing you realize about Solaris is that it’s extremely silent from the start. There is no hyper activity or loud music for a good deal of time and it puts the viewer in to some kind of an eerie mood in par with the lead characters perception of things. And it takes quite long to come to its senses and more than being a science fiction from the start it is a mystery filled story of self discovery. 

A troubled psychologist Chris Kelvin is sent to a far away space station situated in a mystical planet of Solaris in order to investigate some strange happenings on board. Chris soon realizes that Solaris has a unique way of connecting with humans.

In movies a science fiction combined with a psychological thriller is seldom seeing. Though some sci fi touches the surface of psychology it doesn’t really go deep as Solaris does. When it comes to emotional value this has its powerful moments. However giving the cinematographic advancements by the time Solaris was made it does not have any mind blowing CG or sets that amuses the viewer. Therefore it’s quite character and story driven than being visually appealing. All in all most movie where Clooney appears does not fail. This is one of them.