Ready Player One

There's a moment in this movie when the central character says "I love her". His friend hastily replies, "Slow down bro... she could be a 300 lb man living in his mom's basement." In the very brief beat between the two lines, I thought FINALLY a movie about falling in love completely independent of what a person's genetics may be. And then the crushing cynicism in a dystopian world where there is ... Read more

There's a moment in this movie when the central character says "I love her". His friend hastily replies, "Slow down bro... she could be a 300 lb man living in his mom's basement." In the very brief beat between the two lines, I thought FINALLY a movie about falling in love completely independent of what a person's genetics may be. And then the crushing cynicism in a dystopian world where there is little to live for and even less to hope for: even in a nightmare, a fat man is undateable. Don't worry though. If you have the skills you may end up on top. Just like Ben Mendelsohn's slave-owning antagonist almost did. Because in this story, it's not a world where anyone feels compassion or empathy. It's a world where everyone only thinks of themselves. A sociopath's dream. And that's what earns the top prize. I love looking at Tye Sheridan. But not enough to sit through this again.Show less

Can you imagine watching this if you didn't give a fuck about the '80s? Like there's nothing that happens in _Ready Player One_ that isn't a reference to **something** at least, but almost all of them are '80s references. I mean I worship at the altar of 1980s' references on a daily basis, and even for me this was only so-so, I fear to imagine what _Ready Player One_ might be like for someone who ... Read more

Can you imagine watching this if you didn't give a fuck about the '80s? Like there's nothing that happens in _Ready Player One_ that isn't a reference to **something** at least, but almost all of them are '80s references. I mean I worship at the altar of 1980s' references on a daily basis, and even for me this was only so-so, I fear to imagine what _Ready Player One_ might be like for someone who actually demands originality. Honestly, it was better than I was expecting, I'll front to that. The promotional campaign for this had the barometer for my excitement on this at a firm zero, and by the time I had finished watching it I was surprised to find I had actually enjoyed multiple things about it, but _Ready Player One_ is an exercise in lack of subtlety, and really tries your limits on suspension of disbelief. Not because of the fantastical endless virtual world inhabited by near every creation since the dawn of pop-culture, but because of the character interactions in their "real world". _Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._Show less