10 Cloverfield Lane Review
Title: 10 Cloverfield Lane
Rating: PG-13
Grade: A-
Runtime: 1 hour and 43 minutes
Release Date: March 11, 2016
Reviewed By: AIDAN GLENDON
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10 Cloverfield Lane is a drama/horror/mystery that is set in the same world as the original Cloverfield, which quickly became a cult classic. The producers wanted to expand on the world they created and did it by creating a movie that is completely separate and has a different form the original. For instance, Cloverfield is a found footage movie, while its successor is not. The ‘sequel’ is about a woman who ends up in a car crash and is rescued by a man who brings her to his bunker. When she wakes up, he tells her that the world as they know it has ended and that the three people in that bunker are the only survivors.
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The movie is built from a very small cast. Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Michelle, the victim of a car crash and John Goodman portrays Howard, the man who rescues her. Even though Mary Elizabeth Winstead is the star, John Goodman is the top-billed cast member, and for good reason: this movie showcases some of his best acting. Howard is one of the most morally ambiguous characters in movie history. Something in your gut makes you question whether or not you trust him, yet you can’t deny that his actions make sense. He is both a crazed villain and a brilliant hero. IF you see the movie twice, you could watch it once and pick out everything that makes him seem evil, or untrustworthy; but watching a second time, you could see that he is a good man doing the right thing. He essentially portrays two different characters at the same time. Bradley Cooper also has an insignificant cameo. John Gallagher Jr. rounds out the cast playing Emmett, the third survivor in the bunker. His character is important to the story, but serves as more of a buffer between the two main characters and is relatively undeveloped.
The film’s script is central to the movie. All of the dialogue is important, as it always comes back. Nearly every line in the film has a payoff later on. The script is so delicate, that if one character’s lines were removed, the entire outcome of the movie may be changed.
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My final note about the film is that the last 10 minutes differ greatly from the rest of the movie. It essentially turns a drama movie into a sci-fi movie. For those who are familiar with the original source, the genre-flip is expected and beautify executed. The movie caters to a very specific audience, but allows outsiders the chance to enjoy the low-budget spectacle. 10 Cloverfield Lane outshines its predecessor in almost every way, making it a must-see for sci-fi fans.
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Power Rangers Review
Title: Power Rangers
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2 hours and 4minutes
Release Date: March 24th 2017
Grade: B+
Reviewed by: AIDAN GLENDON
Power Rangers is the latest in a long line of both superhero movies and studios mining past successful franchises (TV or movie) and rebooting them for new audiences, while tapping into the old ones for the nostalgia factor. Based off of the EXTREMELY long running show (834 episodes, to be exact), with many variations of the name, Power Rangers tells the same old and tired superhero of finding powers, training, and battling an enemy that is both way too strong to defeat and way too evil to be interesting at all. But, this movie does it better than most.
Most superhero flicks take a way too underdeveloped character and spend more time on powers, gadgets and fighting, leading up to a spectacularly choreographed final fight with amazing special effects. Power Rangers does the opposite, delicately taking the time to introduce us to each character. Over the first hour and twenty minutes or so, the audience gets to intimately know each main character and see how this burden of power and responsibility weighs upon them. It is in the 3rd act where the movie begins to fall flat, with a final fight that seems a little too rushed.
The main team of rangers is made up of 5 teens, all of whom do their part to reflect the world we are living in today, not the world of 1993, when the show first aired. The main cast is rounded out by: Bill Hader as the goofy and borderline irritating sidekick; Bryan Cranston as the ancient mentor; and Elizabeth Banks as the villain. And credit to her, because her role may not be written well, but Banks does as much with it as she can. You can tell that even though she could be phoning it in, she is really doing her best to make her character interesting, a difficult task since her villain has no explained motivation and very little backstory.
Everything in this movie is very well done. The cast is so dynamic and fun to watch, the music perfectly sets the mood, and the effects and design are much better and smoother than the predecessor. Not to mention the small-town vibe perfectly sets the mood for the teenager-experience of the movie.
While a feature length Power Rangers movie was never really asked for, nor necessary, this film certainly proves relevant and fun. I went in expectingTransformers-level entertainment, but got so much more. And obviously, since this is a superhero movie, there is a mid-credits scene setting up a sequel, but it is one that I hope to see soon. I would be disappointed if this first installment were to be the last.
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