Maze Runner: The Death Cure

The end of the trilogy was fun.  Bearing in mind, that this is a teenage film, I can ignore errors such as airborne helicopters not being able to see a lit settlement before the people in it were able to hear them (and switch off all the lights) or how a city outside a city was able to survive without anywhere to grow food.

Other than those two huge errors, it was an enjoyable film and conclusion to the trilogy.  My son joined my daughter and I as we watched it.  Overall, I would have to say that this was not as good as the Hunger Games Trilogy, but was better than Divergent (which started with an awesome film). 

I may be biased though, watching a film about a filler virus which ravages humanity while the world is affected by COVID may alter my perception of the film!

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

This day was spent recharging my batteries.  I had been for a walk with Leia earlier on, but when at home, once left to my own devices, I decided to watch the next instalment in The Maze Runner trilogy.

The film was criticised for issues with character development, but bearing in mind that this is a teenage film, not one for adults, it was a good film.  The plot was not as predictable as I feared it would be, and overall, I can see why my daughter likes the books.  The issues I had with the film were minor, and I think that it is a shame I did not taken the, into watch this when it had come out.

The Maze Runner

Today was an unproductive day. Well, not as productive as I would have liked it to be.  I did go into work, but did not work as efficiently as I would like.  When at home, while my wife was watching Criminal Minds with my daughter, and my son was on the Nintendo Switch, I watched The Maze Runner.  

I had tried to watch it before, but only got to watch the first few minutes.  I had heard a lot about it and I was glad to watch it.  I have to say, I really liked it, but was left wondering how the star and romantic lead were teenagers when the back story about the characters came to light.

But this is a film for teenagers, and I can see why my daughter liked the book.

13 Reasons Why; Tape 3, Side A

While I watched this on Wednesday, I felt that considering that all the other episodes have been discussed, this deserved it's own post as well.  Mainly because of my annoyance at the difference in how people are being made to face the consequences of their actions.  Being a nerd, the way one has been judged compared to the other is an issue which I find hard to move on from.

Overall, the episode was quite sweet, well the positive parts were.  Not counting the trauma of course.  Part of the reason that this may not grate with me is that the only identification I had with this was the inability to ask a pretty woman for a dance when I was younger.  Saying that, Clay is far cooler than I was when I was that age. 

 

13 Reasons Why; Tape 2, Side B

We finished watching this yesterday.  We had started to watch this before but had to stop to get sleep.  This episode raised quite a few issues which my son and I disagreed on.  I felt that one person in the school was being unfairly penalised for what they did when their peers were in essence getting away with the actions that they took.  But it is easier for all of us to deflect the blame on others than to accept our own failings.

It did bring up an issue of how some people are punished less than others based on who they are or the background that they are from, an example that I discussed with my son was the case of Brock Turner and how he 'got away' with a lighter sentence after a horrific sexual assault on an unconscious women, and how this was perceived to be based on his privilege. My son does not know how this issue will be revisited in later episodes.

In essence we disagree.  I feel that the subject of this tape, while wrong in what he did, does not deserve to be singled out for retribution.  My son felt he did.  His view on this may change tomorrow, or may change after watching other episodes.  But I did remember that discussing the episodes is not about me forcing my view on him, but to learn about his view on the issues raised as well. 

I Care a Lot

My wife found I Care a Lot hard to watch and had very strong feelings towards one of the characters in this film. It addresses Elder Abuse and the financial exploitation that occurs towards some of them.

Working in healthcare, this is something that I have to be aware of, and something that I have taken action against. The film does address how hard it can be to pick it up, though what happens in the film is harder to take place here in the UK.

It is a great film, one that I would recommend to all, but due to its subject matter, I would not watch it if you have been affected by the issues raised in the film.  Not knowing much about this, the film was full of lots of surprises and was not one that I could really predict, a feature in films that I value a lot.  I have to say that this does live up to the recommendations to watch it.  The most important recommendation about this film is not to watch the trailers as they will stop you from fully enjoying the film.

Cancel Culture and McCarthyism

Last week, I listened to a very interesting video on Cancel Culture.  It was surprising because it was a YouTube influencer who spoke out against it, and therefore, she was putting herself at risk of Cancel Culture. Others have spoken about it before, doing so eloquently, though with a few swear words included.  

I do think that it has a place, an example being people avoiding playing video's or songs of Gary Glitter so that he is denied the royalties that he would get otherwise.  I know that I would not be able to watch The Cosby Show now, not that I can imagine that this is shown anymore.  

Yesterday I watched another video which compared what is happening now with Cancel Culture to McCarthyism of the past.  Bill Maher is right, and these views were shown in the film of the 90's Guilty By Suspicion, where those with views which were deemed to be unacceptable, we silenced.  

If we silence the space for people to talk about matters we drive conversations underground and cannot engage with them.  People like Trump have been elected by people who felt afraid to discuss views, and if they had been allowed to air them, maybe they would have felt listened to and not voted for a racist misogynist instead.  Anna Akana talks about how it is important to accept that people may have had views in the past that they may regret and how it is important to allow people to be judged on who they are now, not on who they were in the past.

I do not want to live in a world where only acceptable views are discussed.  I am biased, as in the past, I have had views that would not be considered acceptable and no doubt, will have such views in the future.