Movie Review: Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)

Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)
January 26, 2018
Director: Wes Ball
Writers: T.S. Nowlin (screenplay by), James Dashner (based upon the novel by)
Stars: Dylan O'Brien, Ki Hong Lee, Kaya Scodelario |
PG-13
2h 22min
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Young hero Thomas embarks on a mission to find a cure for a deadly disease known as the "Flare".

I went to see the advanced showing of The Death Cure with my 16-year-old daughter last Thursday. She is a fan. And by fan, I mean owns at least two sets of all the books (there is the trilogy and two prequels) along with two signed copies of book one. Went to the fan convention, GladerCon, for the series, and has seen The Death Cure two more times since last Thursday. Here is a photo of Holly with cast members and James Dashner (the author of the books).

I enjoyed the first two movies (The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials). The Death Cure was my favorite of the three. It started off at top speed and never slowed down. Lots of action and things blowing up.

As a fan of the books, Holly says she is happy with how The Death Cure played out. Book fans were a little disappointed with the first two movies because some of the key scenes in the books had been left out, but The Death Cure made up for it. There were many nods at the book included along with some from Dashner's other series.

If you like big action movie troupes (they use them all) then you will like this one. I don't think you have to see the first two to enjoy The Death Cure, but it wouldn't hurt. The first two have been showing on TV so you can catch them for free.

HollyS gives it 5 "sobbing" Sheep

SharonS gives it 4 "You missed." "Did I?" Sheep

Sheep Movie Review: American Assassin (2017)

American Assassin (2017)
Sep 15, 2017
Directed By: Michael Cuesta
Written By: Stephen Schiff, Michael Finch, Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz
Cast: Dylan O'Brien (II), Michael Keaton, Sanaa Lathan, Taylor Kitsch, Shiva Negar
Rating: R (for strong violence throughout, some torture, language and brief nudity)
Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Mystery & Suspense
Studio: Lionsgate and CBS Films
AMERICAN ASSASSIN follows the rise of Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) a CIA black ops recruit under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). The pair is then enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilian targets. Together the three discover a pattern in the violence leading them to a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent (Shiva Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (Taylor Kitsch) intent on starting a World War in the Middle East.

Went to see American Assassin with husband and 16-year-old daughter. We love action movies like Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher and this is the same type of movie. It is based off the Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn.

We really enjoyed the movie. There are lots of hand-to-hand combat scenes. But like most espionage movies, there are slow story building parts. The payoff was worth it for the bomb a$$ ending! Pun intended. American Assassin had an exciting and suspenseful conclusion. Not many movies can have me at the edge of my seat. There are quite a few plot twists I didn't see coming.

Michael Keeton's character is kind of generic for this genre, but Dylan O'Brien rocked his role. I think he has a future in action movies. Hard to believe the actor that started out as derpy Stiles on Teen Wolf...ended up like this.

Maybe for the next movie he can shave that soul patch in the middle of his chest off.

If you like these type of movies then this is worth a watch.

Don and Holly gave it 4.5 Sheep
I give it 4 "assassin" Sheep

SharonS

Sheep Movie Review: Deepwater Horizon

Deepwater Horizon

Directed by Peter Berg 

Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan , Matthew Sand 

Sep 30, 2016

Cast:

Mark Wahlberg as Mike Williams
Kurt Russell as Jimmy Harrell 
John Malkovich as Vidrine 
Gina Rodriguez as Andrea Fleytas 
Dylan O'Brien (II) as Caleb Holloway 
Kate Hudson as Felicia Williams

Runtime: 99 minutes 

Studio:Lionsgate

Rating:PG-13 (for prolonged intense disaster sequences and related disturbing images, and brief strong language.)

Genre: Action & Adventure , Drama 

On April 20th, 2010, one of the world's largest man-made disasters occurred on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor), this story honors the brave men and women whose heroism would save many on board, and change everyone's lives forever.

I remember when this happened, but I had no idea what "happened." I have a new respect for anyone working on a rig. I am not one for true story movies, especially when there is senseless life lost. I have never seen, and will never see, Titanic. The only reason I went to see Deepwater Horizon is because my 15  year old daughter wanted to see one of her favorite actors Dylan O'Brien.

I'm glad I went. There is nothing entertaining about the movie, but it is powerful. I thought the casting was fabulous...you can't go wrong with Kurt Russel and John Malchovich and Mark Wahlburg is nice to look at. I felt on the edge of my seat most of the movie...even knowing what was going to happen. They did a great job of building tension and suspense. They did go a little overboard on the foreshadowing. I don't know how much of the movie was embellished but I'm sure there was some. Some scenes were pretty hard to watch; they must have gotten that PG-13 rating by the skin of their teeth.

The people involved in the making of Deepwater Horizon gave proper respect to those who lost their lives by showing them as people and then at the end of the movie they showed pictures of the real people who died and those involved in saving so many lives. I'm astonished that more didn't die.

Hard to rate this kind of movie. My husband gives it 3.5-4 because it took a while to get to the action. My daughter gives it 4.5...not sure how much that has to do with O'Brien's character living. Knowing what this movie represents and what it means to those who survived and those who didn't, I can only go with my heart and give it 5 Sheep

5 "I want the whole 90 seconds" Sheep

SharonS