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The Maze Runner’ makes some wrong turns

» Enjoyable but not the next ‘Hunger Games’

Mercedes Deutscher
Contributor

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: film can be too inquisitive. I

: found at the beginning that the

: film threw too many questions

took the number one spot in the : , the audience and tooka
: long time to answer them all.

: As well, so many questions are

optimistic: I’d had some friends raised in the second half, many :
: of which remained unanswered. :

: Most frustratingly, the movie

: ends very abruptly. So many

: new elements are brought forth

: within the last 15 minutes and

walked into the theatre without ore fitveees

: sequel, it will hopefully be

: explained—in a year or so.

e Maze Runner, directed
by Wes Ball, opened in
theatres this past weekend and

box office. I’d seen the trailer
earlier this summer and was

tell me that The Maze Runner
could be the next Hunger
Games, which convinced me
to go see it. Having not read
the novel of the same name, I

knowing the plot or what to
expect.

The Maze Runner follows
the story of a tribe of boys who
are sent into a glade one by
one with only their names to
their memory. Near the glade
is the maze, which is hoped to
have an escape to the world the

relatively peaceful life for three
years despite not finding a way
out of the maze. That is, until
Thomas arrives with an avid
curiosity and determination to
escape being entrapped by the
maze,

This movie was directed in

: a fashion to keep the audience
: guessing. To the film’s credit, it
: does a pretty good job of this,
especially in the first half of the :
: memorable. However, the film’s
: sound effects kept my attention
: during high tension action

: scenes. Hats off to the people

: who designed the sound effects
: for the Grievers. If the concept

: of Grievers wasn't frightening

: to begin with, those sounds

movie. However, at times the

From an acting perspective,

: the characters of the film are
: generally believable. The Maze
: Runner stars Dylan O’Brien,
: better known for his work in
: Teen Wolf: O'Brien brings an
boys came from. The boys live a : adventurous spirit to Thomas

. : and did a good job with the
: role. Personally, I found that
: the stand-out performance
: was that of Blake Cooper, who
: was cast as Chuck. Cooper's
: performance is one that I won't
: forget anytime soon, as I found
: myself laughing and feeling

: for his character. The rest of

: the cast did an adequate job,

: but nothing that stood out too
: much.

The soundtrack wasn’t too

certainly were.
My biggest bone to

: pick with the film is the

: cinematography and camera

: work, I don’t recommend this

: movie to anyone who gets dizzy
: easily. The camera seemed to

: be bouncing all over the place,

: which made the movie hard to

: keep up with and even had me

: experiencing motion sickness

: at times.

Overall, this movie has my

: approval, but little more. I’m

: unsure if I would recommend

: this film to those who have read
: the book because I’m skeptical

: over it having only watched the
: movie. That being said, I don’t

: think it was a waste of money

: or time. For the most part, The

: Maze Runner was enjoyable and
: kept my attention.

 

 

Comic Corner: Girls just want to have fun

» ‘Gotham City Sirens Vol. Il’ review

Brittney MacDonald
Staff Writer

OOOO

Ax any comic fan who

their favourite villainesses
are and chances are that
Catwoman, Poison Ivy, or
Harley Quinn are among them.
The three DC divas are among

: some of the most beloved
: femme fatales that the comic
: industry has to offer, spawning

: appearances in cartoons,
movies, and countless graphic
novels. So bringing together all
: three in their own girl power

series seems like a sure thing to
: attract any fan, and I can’t say I
: was disappointed.

Written by Paul Dini,

Gotham City Sirens follows
: the events of Jeph Loeb’s

: Hush series. Catwoman is

: left vulnerable after her near

: death, but is saved by a now

: homeless Ivy. In exchange for
: her help, Catwoman allows Ivy
: to stay at her apartment. They
: are soon joined by a desperate
: Harley Quinn, who is looking
: to escape the abusive clutches
: of her psychotic boyfriend,

: the Joker. The three form an

: unlikely team who must learn
: to work and live together as

: they walk the very thin line
: between villain and hero,

: sometimes saving Gotham
: along the way.

The narrative is a perfect

mixture of dramatic and

: comedic, providing an

: interesting read while the art

: by Guillem March is bright and
: bold. Following the modern

: North American style, the

: panels appear very clean,

: evena little too clean at times

: especially during the fight
: scenes where they can lack

: fluidity.

Asa comic fan of the

feminine gender, I appreciate

: this foray into an almost

: exclusively female cast and I’m
: sure others will as well. I would
: recommend Gotham City

: Sirens to anyone looking for a

: good, solid read, regardless of

: gender.

 

Gritty teen drug romp, not the good kind

» ‘Young God’ book review

Joshua Grant
Senior Columnist

OOOOS

like the idea of a novel that
doesn’t explain itself, where
the narrative gets so lost in
itself that it seems to have
a life of its own. And I like
author Katherine Faw Morris’

: style. It’s gripping, quick, and

: stark, totally listless and nearly
: emotionless. Ican sort of even:
: believe that protagonist Nikki is :
: (we are informed by the jacket
: copy) is “the most determined
: young woman in the North

: Carolina hills.” I’m not sure

: if l see why. Mostly awful

: things happen to her as she

: digs herself deeper and deeper
: intoa life of drugs, crime, and

: prostitution following the

areal person—a really messed
: up person.
I want to like Young God. I

: : really do. But I can’t. It reminds
: me too much of the gritty

: pseudo-realism and morale

: panic-bait that drives the film

: Thirteen and the (totally fake)

: diary/novel Go Ask Alice. ’'m

: almost certain it isn’t meant to
: be, but I can’t shake the taste.

Young God drops us into
the head of young Nikki, who

: senseless death of her mother (I;
: think).

The narrative is pretty

consistent in not showing

: us too much, which is pretty
: impressive. We get the sense
: that Nikki is not particularly
: smart or aware, and totally

: emotionally empty. This is

: rendered in a fashion that is

: both humourless and subtly
: judgmental, and my patience
: was stretched thin by its

subtle moralism.
The good: Young God is

stylistically interesting. The

: parts of the novel that aren’t

: plot driven, where our broken
: protagonist mopes around, are
: devastating, and I would read
: something else by Morris once
: she gets some perspective on

: the affected grit and tawdry

: thrills. Finally, Young God isa

: very quick read.