The Maze Runner

Based on the popular book series, The Maze Runner is an intense and suspenseful thriller. The story follows a group of young boys that find themselves wiped of their memories and sent into the centre of a giant maze that's constantly changing. What the maze is and why the boys have been placed there is an enticing mystery, and the writing does an impressive job at setting up this world and creating intrigue. Additionally, the performances are fairly good, and the costumes and set designs have an interesting look and feel. However, there are some problems with the storytelling, as it seems a bit rushed at times with some random elements thrown in to add ambiguity. Though it's a little weak on story, The Maze Runner is still a entertaining movie.

The Intern

The intern is a situational office drama-comedy starring Robert de Niro as Ben Whittaker and Anne Hathaway as Jules Ostin. The film crafts the story of a retired senior executive whose wife passed away three years ago and he feels as though there is a void in his life (Robert De Niro) so gets back into work by interning at a women’s clothing startup (run by Anne Hathaway). De Niro’s portrayal of Whittaker shows a marked difference between some of his recent characters, Whittaker is contrastingly calm and collected throughout the film and guides the younger members of the office with his wisdom. In contrast, Hathaway portrays a character that is busy and hardworking. The film establishes a great relationship between the two through the characterization of their experience and positions, making for one of the key viewing points of the film.

The film lacks an expansive setting or visual stimulus, and the soundtrack can be left wanting more. However, the film makes great use of the interaction between Whittaker and the younger members of the workplace he imparts wisdom and experience and they trust and enfold him. the film creates a strong narrative with good characterization and as such gets 3.5/5 for our review

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age Of Ultron is the follow up to the 2012 film also directed by Joss Whedon, The Avengers. The film again features Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). The film begins with them hurtling through a frozen forest Their destination is a Colditz-like castle where the terrorist group Hydra have in their clutches a crystal of (literally) Earth-shattering importance. Whedon builds the characters up in this scape and seeds the idea that the only place for them to go is down. The character interaction and animosity is the main attraction of the film, more so than the world crisis they’re trying to diffuse.  This creates the tension and drive within the film and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The action scenes of the film are well executed and create excitement and flare throughout the film. Coupled with the expansive setting and CGI graphics it creates an extremely pleasant viewing experience. For these reasons Avengers: Age Of Ultron gets 4/5 stars

Unbroken

Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie directs and produces Unbroken, an epic drama that follows the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis "Louie" Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) who, along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII-only to be caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. Director Jolie began shooting some of the most dramatic and challenging scenes on Wednesday, October 16, on location far out at sea in Moreton Bay, Australia, with Zamperini (O'Connell) and his fellow airmen-Phil (Domhnall Gleeson) and Mac (Finn Wittrock)-having impossibly survived being adrift in the open Pacific for several weeks. Working with cameras on a floating rig in choppy waters and braving the elements, with actors dieting for months to appear as depleted as their characters, Jolie completed a successful first day of a location shoot that promises to be rigorous and uniquely challenging. Adapted from Laura Hillenbrand's ("Seabiscuit: An American Legend") enormously popular book, Unbroken brings to the big screen Zamperini's unbelievable and inspiring true story about the resilient power of the human spirit. Starring alongside O'Connell, Gleeson and Wittrock are Garrett Hedlund and John Magaro as fellow POWs who find an unexpected camaraderie during their internment, Alex Russell as Zamperini's brother, Pete, and in his English-language feature debut, Japanese actor Miyavi as the brutal camp guard known only to the men as "The Bird."  The film is produced by Jolie, as well as Matthew Baer, Erwin Stoff, and Clayton and is unlike any other typical war movie.