Ready Player One (2018) !Spoilers!

This post will be more of a comparison between the book and the movie with spoilers for both.

 

 

In the book you always enter The Oasis through a screen that says READY PLAYER ONE. This was the first item of nostalgia in the virtual world. The movie doesn't include the title in this way at all.

 

The Oasis is like an online world based on avatars and real world money (think Second Life). In the book the first clue was on the school planet because everyone had access to it and it was free. The movie doesn't include that fact that online schools were virtual and all student avatars looked like their real life controllers. The movie has no rules about avatars looking like controllers so it is not a big deal when 'Aech' is revealed to be a girl in real life and that 'Art3mis' has a birthmark on her face.

 

The virtual school was really important to the book because it was how Wade and others got the equipment to enter The Oasis in the first place. In the book Wade had to power up his generator by riding an exercise bike. In the movie he has a couple car batteries he hooks up. The fact that he only has the basic equipment from  going to school in the book and that he isn't plugged into regular power really shows how bad the stacks are.

 

A lot of the nostalgia and interactions with 80s pop culture is missing from the movie. They did include a walkthrough of a movie - which I thought was the coolest part of the book.

 

The movie takes place in a very short period of time compared to the book. It makes the challenges seem less daunting than in the book. Of course harder challenges would require a longer runtime and the movie is already more than 2 hours long.

 

The big reveal at the end of the book with Parzival not being wiped out with the rest of the Oasis at the last challenge was due to a quarter. In the movie he made a bet with what he believed was a just a part of the archives and won the quarter. In the book he spent considerable time to beat PacMan and won the quarter which then stayed dormant in his inventory.

 

I really enjoyed the movie but if you are expecting it to be like the book you could be disappointed. The movie is much more about relationships and even the hints are based on Hallidays personal life rather than his favorite games. The nostalgia is still there. People in the theatre got very excited whenever their favorite thing showed up. I recommend watching with a large group of people at least once.

The Gun Seller - Hugh Laurie

"The Gun Seller" is a spoof on the spy genre. It follows Thomas Lang and his complicated life. CIA, weapons dealers, terrorists, Ministry of Defence and love tangle up his life. He gets involved in a conspiracy with attempted murder in Britain and ends blowing up a helicopter in Africa.

Upsides
The little asides to the reader - it is first person and his thoughts are humorous
The settings are well established

Downsides
Slow start with character introductions
Not enough information is given about Solomon to understand his character

The Mystery of the Blue Train - Agatha Christie

"The Mystery of the Blue Train" was published in 1928 and features Hercule Poirot. The retired detective rides a train to the Riviera upon which a murder takes place. Poirot works along with the police to find the killer. The French police are sure it is a conman but Poirot suspects the husband. A famed diamond is found to be missing from the murdered woman's belongings which ads more motive to all suspects. It takes time but Poirot catches the murderer and the thief.

The detective stories I read most recently were Sherlock Holmes mysteries, so I found myself comparing the two. Holmes stories generally follow the detective and Dr. Watson as they are introduced to the mystery and work through until it is solved. This story introduced all the characters in detail before any mystery appeared. Poirot does not appear until a third of the way through the book. The protagonist of "The Mystery of the Blue Train" is Katherine Grey, a woman on her first trip to the Riviera and the last person to talk with the murder victim, not the detective.

Upsides
The character development - establishing the characters before the mystery allows the reader to concentrate on understanding the mystery and not be concerned about how the characters fit into the narrative. Most of the suspense comes from character revelation rather than new evidence.
Multiple points of view - the reader has access to many characters' reactions

Downsides
Hidden knowledge - Poirot has facts the reader doesn't have access to (Holmes stories do this too)

Paddington 2 (2018)

Paddington 2 follows Paddington on his search for the perfect birthday present for his Aunt Lucy. Of course things don't go as planned. Paddington is sent to jail for stealing and the Brown's must find the real thief.

Upsides
A happy family film
I like the variety of crazy characters more in this than the first film
Laugh out loud slapstick humour

Downsides
It takes a lot of ideas directly from the first film. Do not watch if you recently watched the first one, it will not be as enjoyable.

The Commuter (2018)

The Commuter follows Michael on the day he gets fired from his job and takes the train ride home to tell his wife. On the train a lady asks him a hypothetical question that turns out not to be hypothetical.

Upside
Visual story telling - the first scene kind of blew my mind
                                -so many important details are only communicated visually
The ending
The fight scenes

Downside
The non-fight action scenes - a regular person would not survive that long
The family's reaction to Michael's day was underwhelming

Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

Hercule Poirot the famous detective is taking a holiday train trip on the way to another crime. During the 3 day trip a murder is committed. The train then gets derailed by snow in the mountains. During this delay to the next station Poirot must find the murderer.

Upsides
Some laughs - my theatre often laughed out loud
Character introductions - especially Poirot and Booker

Downsides
Some of the detecting at the end

and



!SPOILERS!

There is no way all 12 people would be able to believably act as if they did not know each other if they were recruited beforehand






P.S. I had not read the book before seeing the film, I liked it so much Hercule Poirot will be the net mystery books I read

Snow (2004)

A Santa Claus origin story "Snow" follows Nick Snowden on the week before Christmas. Nick is the next Santa and is preparing for the big day. Sandy works at the San Ernesto zoo. The zoo just got some new reindeer but one of them belongs to Nick. Nick leaves the North Pole to get the reindeer back before Christmas.

Upsides

Fun characters - Hector is awesome
Good special effects - the animated reindeer doesn't hold up, but the mirror looks really good
New Santa origin story
They made a sequel

Downsides

It ends with a couple questions - Can Nick understand NFRs too? What if there is no son in the family? Can people still find the workshop if it isn't the week before Christmas?

The sequel isn't as good