It has been so long since my previous post! The end of the semester and finals were really tough this year, but exams are over and school is out. So, here's a hastily written jumble of thoughts about the latest Avengers film. I jotted some thoughts down on paper after seeing the movie when it first came out so here is that list. Spoilers ahead, obviously.

This past Thursday I went to an advance screening of the new Rampage movie coming out this week and here are a few thoughts.

 Apparently this movie is based on a late 80s arcade game. I've never played this game but this is what wikipedia has to say about it: "Players take control of gigantic monsters trying to survive against onslaughts of military forces. Each round is completed when a particular city is completely reduced to rubble. [x]" If destruction of cities is what you're looking for in a movie, Rampage is the movie for you. Based on this description of the game, I definitely think this film is pretty accurate to it's legacy and also probably does a good job of filling in any plot holes/ details that give the story more depth.

I went into the movie very nervous because anything involving animals always makes me cautious. The movie is really good about animal treatment and representation in that the characters are trying to protect the main "monster" from being destroyed by the government (who are just trying to save the city). I really appreciated how the plot emphasized that the "rampage" is not the animals' fault but the scientists who altered them. There are a lot of dimensions to the plot but long story short is that I left the theater feeling fine about the animals and their plot.

Dwayne Johnson is great, as he always is. There was a lot of comedy and he did a great job playing both the tough guy and the sensitive primatologist. I know he's known for playing essentially the same role in every movie but I really did enjoy this scientist character.

Where the plot really shines is with Naomie Harris's character Kate Caldwell. Her backstory is really interesting and well developed. I love a good tragic history as motivation for a character. It just helps the movie be a little bit more than just The Rock against mutated monster animals.

From what I can remember there weren't even any obnoxiously unneeded romantic scenes written in just for the sake of it. I really appreciate that. There was one comment toward the end that was annoying but that was about it. So the movie definitely gets some points from me for avoiding unnecessary romance subplots.

I enjoyed this movie in the way that I enjoy big-budget destruction movies. There's a lot of action and a lot of big fight scenes. It was fun to just sit back and watch all of Chicago be torn apart by three giant animals.

Was it my favorite movie? No, definitely not. It was fun and entertaining but it isn't in my list of top sci-fi movies by a long shot.

Would I recommend this movie? Yes. I saw it in a normal theater in 2D but it would be pretty cool in IMAX if you get the chance.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a comment. Let me know what you thought about Rampage.

–– Samantha

I might do a review of the Ready Player One novel sometime in the future, but this is a quick review for the movie directed by Steven Spielberg which came out today.

I've already read several articles and blog posts that claim the movie was disappointing and overly saturated with pop culture references (which is the point) and I feel like I want to be the optimist for this movie.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I actually enjoyed Ready Player One. It was fast paced and exciting from beginning to end with no annoying lull in the plotline which can be common in action movies.

The story was altered from it's novelization but this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The book is long and a lot of intricate details occur which lengthens out the competition within the story. A movie version of the book that changed nothing would be an impossibly long one. Zak Penn and Ernest Cline (the book's writer) did a great job at preparing the script to incorporate the important elements and the spirit of the book into the film. I trust this new movie-storyline not just because it was good but also because the book's author co-wrote the script. He obviously approves of this book-to-movie adaptation since he helped adapt it!

Many of the elements were adapted so well it is amazing. The Stacks where Wade lives and the massiveness of the OASIS were so well done (God bless good CGI).  CGI-heavy movies can be hard to swallow if done poorly, but I didn't have any issues with this movie. The distinction between reality and OASIS made the CGI of the OASIS feel fluid and natural. We aren't supposed to believe that these crazy things like car racing in NYC or monsters in The Shining are real – they're in a video game. So even if the CGI wasn't the best quality it would have still felt natural because we KNOW we are watching a "fake" world. I feel like I'm going in circles defending the special effects at this point so I'll just say that I liked the balance of real-world scenes to OASIS scenes and they did a good job.

For those who felt bombarded with pop-culture references, I don't think they've read the book or have any sense of this world in which Wade lives. It's a world in which one man's love for pop culture and nerd culture has seeped into his creation of one of the most important computer programs/worlds that this futuristic society relies on. The references certainly have much more significance in the book but incorporating them into the movie not only helped make the movie fun but also set the tone of the world in which the movie takes place.

Overall, I really enjoyed Ready Player One. It did not bother me that the story was different from the book or that the pop culture references seemed 'cheesy' or out of place. The heart of the book was translated beautifully into movie form and it kept the same foundational goal: Wade and his group of OASIS friends banding together to save the world from corporate dictatorship.

– Samantha

Another semester has come and gone. I actually struggled a lot this past fall which made the semester really difficult. I felt so overwhelmed with the workload and at one point fell super behind in both math and physics. Nevertheless, I did do pretty well in those classes and in my other classes as well. For the spring semester I have signed up for only three classes as a way to give myself a small break and hopefully regain some confidence.

Here's a video of me discussing my fall semester.

It is now mid-semester and I've been struggling with my 8 AM class so much. The struggle is so real. In an effort to be more punctual, I have been brainstorming some ideas to help myself feel motivated and happy (well as much as I can be that early) enough to focus and enjoy my early classes. Here are some tips that have helped me so far: