Oxygen (2021) Movie Review

Oxygen (2021) IMDB

Oxygen (2021) movie poster

Oxygen is a French science fiction thriller exclusive to Netflix that takes place in a very confined place. If you have seen the 2010 movie Buried starring Ryan Reynolds, this is the sci-fi version of it.

The gist of the movie is a woman wakes up in a cryogenic chamber with no memory of how she got there and with her oxygen levels lowering rapidly and unable to get out of her chamber. Obviously this is a problem. The movie is her trying to figure out where she is, what is happening, and how she can fix it.

All of this happens from a claustrophobic space. So why is this review on a maze website ? Well, there are a few scenes that show mice moving through a maze. These scenes are all about conveying the feeling our main character is feeling being stuck in here chamber and trying to get out (troubleshoot).

While the concept is good, the plot peels away like the layers of an onion. It’s a bit slow, but worth a look if you like Sci-Fi.

I found an alternative movie poster for it, the French version, which I really love. I features a circular maze on our main characters eye. Great design and concept. But did it make my list of the 10 best maze movie posters ?

Oxygen (2021) movie poster eye

I give it a 6/10.

Enjoy this trailer for the movie:

Hubie Halloween (2020) Movie Review

Hubie Halloween (2020) IMDB

Hubie Halloween (2020) movie poster

By Netflix - Google, Fair use,

Hubie Halloween is the story of Hubie Dubois, played by Adam Sandler, a childlike grown-up who protects his hometown each Halloween from bad actors and makes sure they play within the rules. He is mocked each year by everyone in the town. This is a family movie exclusive to Netflix with a ensemble cast. You get Dan Patrick, Shaq, Kevin James, Ray Liotta, and your standard alumnus of SNL to name a few.

Now this is not a maze movie, but there is a reason this is included on the site. During one sequence of the movie there is a report of a lost child in a corn maze and Hubie goes to check out the situation. Of course it is all a practical joke.

The movie centers around a Halloween where a convict has escaped from the local mental institution. Can Hubie, mocked for his entire life, save the town ? Well, regardless of how things turn out, the movie has weak laughs and is one of Sandler’s weakest films. Kids might like it, but most adults will not. I will say it is a nice Halloween movie that is horror light and rated PG-13.

I give the movie a 5/10.

Here is the trailer for the movie:

The Batman (2022) Movie Review

The Batman (2022) IMDB

The Batman (2022) movie poster

First I want to say there are no spoilers per say in this review but I will speak about some plot details of the movie that do not give anything away. So now you know.

Let’s start off with the good. This is all about Batman the detective. It is not an action movie although there are a few action sequences. It is a dark movie. Gotham is well represented as a gritty, large city with the flavor of a merged NYC and Chicago. The cinemaphotography is very good. The acting is very good from multiple characters, and Robert Pattinson fits as Batman IMO. All in all this a movie that everyone is flocking to see in theaters and for good reason.

Now, some of the not so good. This is a slow building plot. It is a murder mystery and everything comes together in the end, but not in a fast paced way. It would be ideal if they had cut 20 minutes from the movie (it clocks in at just under 3 hours) and they played it at 1.3X speed. I suggest cutting some of the scenes with soggy boots and very slow walking….or give us an INTERMISSION !! Half of the theater I was in got up at some point during the movie to go to the bathroom. Everyone else was probably uncomfortable. Also, skip the end credits scene.

This review is on a maze website, and that is because a maze is part of the plot of the movie. A serial killer is on the loose in Gotham. The second victim is killed in a very clever way using rats in a maze. Of course this includes a riddle as a clue. And everything else you’ll need to learn by watching the movie.

This film is definitely worth your time, just don’t drink too much before seeing it. I give the movie a 7.5/10.

Enjoy this trailer for the movie:

If you want more Batman in a maze content check out this kids book review: Batman and Robin Walk Into a Maze...

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Grave Encounters (2011) Movie Review

Grave Encounters (2011) Movie Review) IMDB

Grave Encounters (2011) movie poster

We can thank Blair Witch Project (1999) for an entire genre of found footage movies. This allowed movie makers to make movies where the camera work is shaky to add to the realism, and people always have their cameras pointed in just the right direction. If something is expensive to shoot just make the lighting dark and the special effects team can spend less money, because it is shot by a non-professional person, not a cameraman. This found footage movie is about a ghost hunting reality tv show that spends the night in an abandoned mental hospital. Now, although these are television professionals they STILL have terrible camerawork as they film this mental hospital. If this was real found footage (spoiler?) there would need to be a lot of editing.

Now about the movie. It has some nice scares along the way, starting slow and with a nice buildup of a scenario where a tv production crew locks themselves in an abandoned mental hospital overnight. What could possibly go wrong ? Well, you could have trouble getting out …and the hospital could be changing, with new hallways existing where one wasn’t before….creating a maze-like trap that must be escaped from. The group starts being picked off one by one. At the end of the day (or night in this case) - this movie works. It isn’t great, but it is worth seeing !

I give it an 6/10 for having some good scares and a nice premise.

Here is the trailer for the movie: