Escape Into The Oasis With Ready Player One

Good day my friends! And welcome to the wonderful month of April! Yes spring has sprung, the snow is melting and we are on the verge of summer movie season. They say that April showers bring may flowers and that metaphor could accurately be used to describe the movie releases in the month of April. From that I mean in April we are usually given what Hollywood has left in their reserves just before the big blockbuster season. Now I am not saying that the movies that are usually released in April are bad. In fact I have seen an awful lot of movies that have come out around this time and have been pretty great! Every month has its good and bad movies. But every once in a while there comes along a really great movie that just sticks with you and is memorable. For me growing up in the 1980's there was no on line streaming or downloading, cell phones were huge and only a select few had them. There was no social media to show our every move or thought and to post pictures on. Cable television was about 17 to 20 channels. Sitcoms and primetime soap operas like Dallas and Dynasty ruled the small screen instead of me television like reality shows that seem to be everywhere now. Although I do like how we have evolved characters in todays shows. Reagan was President in the USA, Mulroney in Canada and Margaret Thatcher in England. Saturday mornings were for cartoons and there were some classics and they were much better than what we have now! Toys like the Slinky, Madballs, G.I Joe and Transformers and of course the Rubics Cube, Atari video games. There was fantastic music from Michael Jackson to Madonna and bands like Duran, Duran and Van Halen. And than there was the movies Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, The Back To The Future Trilogy, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Goonies, Rocky 3, The Karate Kid, The Shining and of course E.T.. I had a lot of good memories growing up in the 80's and most of them came from the movies. My parents would often take us to the video store on a Friday night to rent movies. But it was my first ever trip to the theatre at a young age to see E.T. with my older brother that ignited my love for the movies and the great stories they told. That love has grown ever since. It was a lot of director Steven Spielberg's adventure movies that many people including me love the most from this decade. That is why I was looking forward to this latest movie review. A movie filled with tons of 80' pop culture and music but also an homage to a lot of Spielbergs movies in the 80's. That movie is Ready Player One which is based on the novel by Ernest Cline who also co-wrote the screenplay with Zak Penn( The Avengers) and is directed by the man, the myth, the legend himself Steven Spielberg. The movie stars Tye Sheridan(X-Men:Apocalypse) as Wade/Parzival, Olivia Cooke(Me And Earl And The Dying Girl) as Art3mis/ Samantha, Ben Mendelsohn(Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as Sorrento and Mark Rylance(Bridge Of Spies) as James Halliday. So lets take a trip to the Oasis and feel the 80's nostalgia.

The year is 2045, the world is a harsh place, people escape to a virtual universe known as the Oasis. In the Oasis you can go anywhere, do anything and be
anyone as far as your imagination takes you. The Oasis was created by brilliant and eccentric game designer James Halliday(Rylance)who created a lot of things
in the Oasis to resemble the decade in which he grew up in the 1980's. This is where Wade Watts escapes to. Wade lives in the stacks in Columbus ,Ohio with his Aunt and her latest loser boyfriend. But when he enters the Oasis he is Parzival and meets up with his friends Aech, Sho and Daito. In 2040 though James Halliday dies! But after his death it is revealed that Halliday has created a 3 part contest to find three keys to unlock the ultimate prize of Halliday's "Easter Egg" that gives control of the Oasis and Halliday's immense fortune to the winner. Ever since that time people have been flocking to the Oasis to try and solve the first challenge with no luck. After his latest attempt Parzival meets the legendary Art3mis and develops a friendship with her. But after solving the first challenge Wade/Parzival and his friends become the target of IOI CEO Sorrento(Mendelsohn) who wants the Oasis for himself as part of his vast tech empire and will do everything in his power to get it. As Wade and his friends get closer after the solving the second challenge and getting the second key so does the danger. And with Sorrento discovering the third challenge it is up to Wade and his friends to rally the world to help them stop IOI and save the Oasis and win the game.

Well? What do you think? Does this make you want to see it? Are you still on the fence? Have you seen it already? Are you going to see it again? Let me calm your fears and answer the big question of whether you should see it or see it again! This movie was a perfectly written movie that takes place mostly in the virtual world of the Oasis and partially in the real world. It was a fun movie with great special effects, a fantastic soundtrack and tons of 80's nostalgia. The characters were relatable and brought to life perfectly by the performers. This movie seemed to have a bit of everything in it! It had action, humor and heart. A perfect storm you might say. This was the perfect throwback to some of the great adventure movies that Spielberg directed in the 80's. To those negative people out there who say he is overrated than I say shame on you! I would like to see you make a resume and great pictures like he has along with his production crew. That being said I would like to say thank you Mr. Spielberg, your latest movie made me feel like a kid again. You brought back the magic that made you so beloved and made me fall in love with the movies! It had me all choked up and brought tears of joy to my eyes. This movie reminded me of my childhood and why I want to create my stories to bring to life on the big screen. This is why I am putting Ready Player One high on my Pick-It list of movies to see at the theatre and giving it a 8.2 on The Justin Scale Of Movies. It is that time my friends! Time to call it a wrap on my latest movie review. But before I sign off I just want to say thank you for reading my reviews and remember to see a movie at the theatre. The theater experience is magical. It inspires and entertains. Every time I go is still magical, a feeling you can't get from illegally downloading or streaming services. That being said keep that popcorn freshly popped and save me a good seat because I will be seeing you again at the movies!