Sharp Objects (2018)

Yes, there is a twist at the end. No, the preceding episodes are not worth the payoff. The first six episodes are excruciatingly slow and uneventful. The last two episodes pick up, but it is already too late. All of the characters are unlikable creepy crazies. It is very dark. The whole rural southern gothic vibe is quite off-putting, as is the racism and homophobia and Confederacy paraphernalia. The twist is good but it's so last minute that we don't actually get enough explanation to be satisfied. We don't get her motivations, or how the cheerleader is involved, or how she's so freakishly strong.  The editing style was too quick for me. There are lots of hidden words that I missed. There are time jumps that are not clear cause Amy Adams looks exactly the same. There are short hallucinations that are easy to miss. We often don't know what we're seeing. It's all intentionally disorienting and I don't like being disoriented. The music choices are interesting. Why do they use the wistful Umbrellas of Cherbourg, a beautiful, colorful French musical? It doesn't fit at all.

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Good Night and Good Luck is a sleek movie about Edward R. Murrow's public battle with the notorious Senator McCarthy. It uses quite a bit of authentic archival footage in original black and white. As a consequence, the whole movie is filmed in black and white to match, and it's an excellent choice. The movie looks really good. It's more relevant today than it even could have predicted. In 2019, journalists, on TV and otherwise, play an extremely important role in holding government officials accountable. Maybe it serves as a lesson on how to take put a stop to Donald Trump.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2016)

This was the movie that really exhausted me on the plane. After watching Hail Caesar, I saw another bad movie. This is what I call a running movie. It was basically nonstop running. It doesn't make for very interesting plot. It's a chase without a destination. I enjoyed the first one because of the mystery surrounding the premise. But the mystery does not resolve itself in this one. The plot doesn't really move at all. We just have to wait for the final installment. They didn't give me enough answers. And there wasn't enough Minho.

The Maze Runner (2014)

The latest dystopian teen drama based on a book series has an intriguing premise.  A group of teenaged boys is trapped in the center of a giant maze and a few designated runners are tasked with mapping the maze to find an exit.  Immediately the audience is thrust into this world with Dylan O'Brien as Thomas knowing just as little as he does.  Is this some social experiment, or sadistic torture, we have no idea.  Who is he--well, not even Thomas can answer that.  Its one downfall is that this is just the first in a series of films and so it answers very few questions and leaves the audience wondering.  This movie is missing some closure, though I suppose if the goal was to leave me wanting more then they succeeded in what the latest Hunger Games movie failed to do, entice me.  The grievers are fantastic creations as part-robot, part-scorpion monsters.  And the most refreshing thing this movie has to offer is diversity.  Though the protagonist is a white male, the leader of the community is black, and the leader of the runners is Korean.  They both have roles with plenty of lines and authority and their characters kick ass.