Ready Player One

PG-13
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Mark Rylance, Win Morisaki and Philip Zhao
Running Time 2 Hours and 33 Minutes

You may not be aware that this movie is based on the 2011 science fiction novel, "Ready Player One" by American author Ernest Cline. And... another dystopian story set in the year 2045.
 I screened this whirlwind movie in 3-D IMAX. I knew it was going to be a super Sci-fi, but nothing could really prepare me for just how much Sci-fi! There seriously are so many things going on in almost every single scene that I found it to be totally overwhelming! On the other hand, the attention to detail was incredible and the computer generated images were very realistic. I loved all of the music they used throughout the movie too. It was a lot of fun. This is definitely entertaining, a serious popcorn movie!
This is the story of a young man named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) and his Avatar known as, Parzival. Both of Wade's parents are dead and he lives with his Aunt in Columbus, Ohio. They live in a very dismal and depressing area called "the stacks" where old trailers are piled one on top of the other in a very poverty-stricken neighborhood compliments of too many environmental disasters!
Wade is a super-talented video gamer who uses that talent to escape the reality of his surroundings.
He seeks to go to "The Oasis", a paradisaical dream world where everything is amazing!
The inventor of The Oasis, James Halliday (Mark Rylance) challenges all of his adoring followers to try and solve the mysteries using "Easter eggs" or secret codes to get the magic keys and ultimately win the game and take control of The Oasis. The winner has to find all three magical keys.
 Throw in some evil bad guys who want to take control of everything and you have yourself a very strange and futuristic movie. Steven Spielberg directed this movie and pushed the special effects to the max! He used several different cameos from other famous movies such as, Chuckie, Beetlejuice and a bloody scene from "The Shining" for extra drama. Plus Godzilla and King Kong. There is just so much going on that it is hard to focus on  the actual plot of the movie. Granted, video games are definitely not my thing so I'm seeing this movie from a different perspective. Maybe if I went and saw it again I would understand the plot just that much more, but I really have no desire to see this one again
Parents be advised: This movie is rated PG-13. There is a lot of video game reality, violence and profanity too.
I would not recommend this movie for children under the age of ten.
I am giving "Ready Player One" three bags of popcorn.

A Wrinkle in Time

PG
Starring: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine, Storm Reid, Deric McCabe, Levi Miller, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Zach Galifianakis
Running Time: 2 Hours

I had such high hopes for this movie having been a huge fan of the book in my youth... but, it ended up being a major disappointment to me! I was so excited to see how they were going to tell this unique story and bring it to life on the big screen. There was so much hype and anticipation for this movie that maybe that may have played into my disappointment as well.
I don't feel like they followed the story from the book closely enough to keep it authentic.
The movie takes place four years after the young father in the family Mr. Murry (Chris Pine) some kind of a scientist experimenting in dimensional time-travel, suddenly disappears.
From there his daughter Meg (Storm Reid) is determined to discover what on earth happened to her beloved father and prove that he is still alive. Meg, her six-year old brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and a close school friend Calvin (Levi Miller) suddenly find themselves in the presence of a unique woman named Mrs.Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon) when all chaos ensues and they are completely confused. They are suddenly whisked off into another dimension to try and find their father. They encounter Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and eventually the very calming and reassuring Mrs.Which (Oprah Winfrey).
This movie was so confusing and bewildering that it just left you completely baffled.
There were just too many strange occurrences with such unusual characters that it lost its appeal and draw. I felt like the movie was all over the place with no real direction.
The three Mrs. characters, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which were some of the strangest and  most misunderstood characters in a movie. They had the weirdest make-up and hair dos ever. I did appreciate the strength in the character of Meg and her determination to not give up on her father. However, there were some really cool scenes with beautiful, bright colors and some stunning special effects.
Parents be aware: This movie is rated PG. There were some intense scenes with some very bizarre looking characters. There was also strange and unusual scenery that young children could find troubling and scary.
I am giving "A Wrinkle in Time" two and a half bags of popcorn.