Muppets from Space (1999) Movie Review

Muppets from Space (1999) IMDB

Muppets From Space movie poster

Who is your favorite Muppets character (other than Kermit) ? For some it is Animal, Beaker or Grover, but for me it is Gonzo. And if you are like me, then this is the film for you because this Muppets movie stars Gonzo in the lead role closely supported by Rizzo the Rat. You still get doses of Kermit, Fozzy, Miss Piggy, Animal and all of the other characters you know and love. Plus this wouldn’t be a Muppet movie if there weren’t cameos by people like Hulk Hogan, Ray Liotta, Rob Schneider and David Arquette to name a few. And of course as you will hear in the trailer below, it is full of musical numbers set to feel good classic songs !

This story is all about Gonzo looking for his long lost family. What is Gonzo exactly ? Could he be an alien ? This movie explores that along with a few side stories that make it fun for the whole family. As far as mazes go, during a key scene Rizzo the Rat gets captured by the bad guys and gets put into a cage with lab rats. I should have said “spoiler” before that. My bad. Anyway the lab rats are put into a rat maze during the next scene, and that’s why this movie is a maze movie, or at least a movie with a maze scene.

Will this movie change how you feel about anything important in your life ? Will it make you you think differently about the world and your place in it ? Could this be a film that 30 years from now critics look back on fondly as a masterpiece that slipped thru the cracks ? No, no and no. But feel free to let the kids watch it and be entertained for awhile. You might even hear a few laughs every now and then.

In my opinion of the 9 Muppets movies that have been made this is middle of the pack. I rate it a solid 6/10.

Check out the trailer:

The Maze Runner (2014) Movie Review

The Maze Runner is a 2014 film based on the first book from the 5 part best selling book series by James Dasher. Let’s see what this movie is all about.

The Maze Runner (2014) IMDB

The Maze Runner (2014) movie poster
The Maze Runner (2014) Movie Poster - into the maze

So you wake up with no memory of your past trapped with others just like you in an enclosed environment (Seems a bit Cube ish yes ?). Well, not completely enclosed. They are surrounded by very high stone walls that contain a maze which you need to solve in order to escape. You get the chance to solve the maze each morning when a large door opens but the maze is patrolled by cyborgs. That same door closes each night, and if you get stuck in the maze overnight, you die. You don’t know why you’re there or who put you there. Escaping the maze seems like the right move…run. So that is the premise and set-up for the movie.

Although the reviews of this movie are average, I found the movie to be better than that. It isn’t a movie that is going to win any awards…checks….except a few from the MTV Movie + TV Awards, but the story was interesting and kept my attention. I tend to like sci-fi post-apocalypse movies and this is definitely that.

If there is a weakness of the movie it is the why. As the movie unfolds and the group begins to learn what is happening the why of the maze becomes complex….but a bit meaningless. But that is why we have sequels and additional books, because the maze running story is just getting started.

Now we have time for a sidebar. The movie posters for this movie are excellent, as are the posters for the sequels. As a person who makes maze artwork daily these are really good design. If you want to explore this topic more check out my lost of The 10 Best Maze Themed Movie Posters.

I would rate it a strong 7.4/10 despite a non-ending. You’ll need to keep watching the sequels to get the answers you need.

Check out the trailer:

Inception (2010) Movie Review

If you believe in the voting on major movie websites, Inception is the highest rated maze movie of all time. Do I need to write anything after that ? ok…

Inception (2010) IMDB

Inception (2010) movie poster

At the time of this writing this is the highest rated Science-Fiction movie of all-time on IMDB. It won 4 Oscars, and although it didn’t win, it was nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. It has won 159 awards and was nominated for 220 awards according to its IMDB page. So, does this need a review ? No, it is outstanding.

But what is the movie about and how are mazes involved ? Well, the movie revolves around a group of thieves go into dreams to steal corporate ideas from the minds of people. This time they need to plant an idea in a CEO’s head during a dream (what they call an inception). To do this they will need to circumvent the maze of subconscious dream worlds they’ve created - a dream world within a dream world within a dream world. Sounds like that will be easy to execute. This is a solid script, well acted (packed full of stars Leonardo DiCaprio,
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, E. Page and Ken Watanabe), well shot, well paced, has great special effects and multiple outstanding action scenes. One of things that make this movie so loved is the concept and premise. This is not a story concept you have ever heard of before. You will not be guessing what is going to happen next because you have not seen this before.

And the ending !!! Perfect. 9.5/10. Thank you Christopher Nolan.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) Movie Review

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) IMDB

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2015) movie poster

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth Harry Potter movie/book in the series of 7 (8 movies since the last book was broken into 2 movies), so this marks the halfway point in the series.

This movie revolves around a wizarding tournament called the Triwizard Tournament which brings foreign wizarding schools to Hogwarts to compete. Harry is selected to compete in the tournament despite not putting his name in the running for the spot. To win, competitors must compete 3 tasks. The first 2 tasks involve a dragon (a great part of the movie) and a lake rescue. But I review any movie that contains any maze or labyrinth, so let’s get right to the maze portion of the movie: Harry and his other competitors are stuck in a hedge maze for task 3 of the tournament. This is a very active hedge maze that seems to be alive, which Harry must escape to move forward. I feel like I don’t need to say spoiler before I mention he does escape and there are many more books and movies. Overall it is an interesting scene.

So how is the overall film ? If I am being honest, each of the Harry Potter films is good and worth seeing and this is no exception. What really stands is the creative and interesting world that JK Rowling created in her books. The director here, Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco) did a nice job bringing the story to the big screen. I would give it a 7.5/10.

Here is the trailer for this film: