Tag Archives: Mark Rylance

Movie Review: Ready Player One (2018) *All Pop Without the Culture*

Tye Sheridan in Ready Player One
What happens when reality gets to be too much?  Well, most of us depart it as soon as possible.  “Humankind cannot bear very much reality,” (little T.S. Eliot for you) and it’s true.  Especially in the hypersaturated information age, reality is an overwhelming non-stop sensory onslaught.  People need to check out to stay sane.  Some find healthy ways of doing this, others not so healthy, but the need for escapism remains.  In Ready Player One, the enter world has escaped a depressing society into a virtual reality playground known as the OASIS.  Inside, the whole world is engaged in a treasure hunt to find three keys that will unlock the ownership of the OASIS embedded in the system by its deceased founder.  If that sounds like an awesome premise for a story, you are correct.  The book is one of my favorite of the last decade.  Whether you like Ready Player One or not, is probably going to depend on whether you have read the book or not and know just how much better THAT story is than the one Steven Spielberg delivers. Continue reading Movie Review: Ready Player One (2018) *All Pop Without the Culture*

Ready Player One Trailer #3 (2018) “Come With Me”

Ready Player One is a book I loved, and I have never felt that any of the trailers that have been presented for Steven Spielberg’s upcoming adaptation of the book felt like they were on point, and that continues with the final trailer, which is an homage to the Willy Wonkaesque quest that players will go on in the OASIS to find the hidden keys.  I have no confidence in Steven Spielberg as a director anymore, either as a serious film maker or a crafter of the kind of blockbusters he created as a the driving financial force in Hollywood.  There seems way more emphasis on Easter Eggs and cameos in this trailer than the actual plot, which is more than enough to sell the story.  If they’d pushed The Iron Giant this much before his own movie, more people would have seen that animated classic.  He’s gotten more screen time than the plot.  I hope I’m wrong, but I think this film is going to go horribly off the rails.  Ready Player One opens in March 29, 2018.


Set in the near future, Ready Player One follows outcast teenager Wade Watts (Sheridan), who escapes from his bleak surroundings by logging in to the OASIS, a globally networked virtual utopia where users can lead idyllic alternate lives. When eccentric billionaire who created the OASIS dies, he offers up his vast fortune as the prize in an elaborate treasure hunt. Along with gamers from around the world, Wade joins the adventure, and quickly finds himself pitted against powerful corporate foes and other ruthless competitors who will do anything, in the oasis or the real world, to reach the treasure first. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cook, Leticia Wright, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg, and Ben Mendelsohn.
Ready Player One Poster

Ready Player One Trailer #2 (2018) “Enter the OASIS”

Ready Player One is one of my favorite novels of the last five years, and I was not hugely impressed like most people with the first trailer because it diverged significantly from Ernest Cline’s novel (which doesn’t need much tinkering).  A lot of it stems from a distrust of Spielberg with blockbusters, because he’s not a blockbuster director anymore.  Somewhere along the way he lost the childhood spark of adventure that infused the films that made him a household name, and I’d love it if this was the film that got it back, but not at the expense of what is amazing source material.  I did like this trailer better.  We’ll have to see when the film opens in March 2018.


Set in the near future, Ready Player One follows outcast teenager Wade Watts (Sheridan), who escapes from his bleak surroundings by logging in to the OASIS, a globally networked virtual utopia where users can lead idyllic alternate lives. When eccentric billionaire who created the OASIS dies, he offers up his vast fortune as the prize in an elaborate treasure hunt. Along with gamers from around the world, Wade joins the adventure, and quickly finds himself pitted against powerful corporate foes and other ruthless competitors who will do anything, in the oasis or the real world, to reach the treasure first. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cook, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg, and Ben Mendelsohn.
Ready Player One Poster

Dunkirk Blu Ray Release Date and Special Features

Christopher Nolan Filming Dunkirk

There are a group of great films this year at the very top of what has been, otherwise, a mediocre year in film.  Nearly 11 months into the year, Dunkirk is still my pick for Best Film of 2017.  Part of me wonders how much of the immersive experience of Dunkirk will be lost when you’re viewing it at home and not in an IMAX theater.  Gravity is a comparison you could draw.  That film is still good at home, but it’s nothing compared to what it was in IMAX 3D.  I suspect it will still be one of the best war films I’ve ever seen and at the top of Christopher Nolan’s very elite resume alongside The Dark Knight, Inception, and Memento.  The official press release from WB as to the film’s blu ray and 4K special features is below (man, I wish Nolan would do director’s commentaries).  Dunkirk will hit stores just in time for Christmas: December 19, 2017.

Continue reading Dunkirk Blu Ray Release Date and Special Features

Movie Review: Dunkirk (2017) *Another Nolan Masterpiece*

Dunkirk

Dunkirk is Christopher Nolan’s 10th film.  In 10 films, Nolan has already put together a body of work that marks him as the best director of his generation, but he’s still getting better.  The Miracle at Dunkirk is one of the most important moments of World War II and Nolan immerses you in it in a complete sensory experience.  He combines staggering IMAX cinematography, lightning-fast editing, multiple perspectives, and a score designed to make you as tense as the soldiers on the beach to produce a film that still feels like a Nolan film, but is also the best war film made since Saving Private Ryan and 2017’s best film to date. Continue reading Movie Review: Dunkirk (2017) *Another Nolan Masterpiece*