Ready Player One

Going in: I'm honestly not expecting this to be any art. Just a good time and a nod to a lot of nostalgia. I've read some reviews, but I forgot most of them.

Popcorn: 8/10. I'll see it again. I might buy it, but it'll depend on how the kids like it. I really enjoyed it and it's a must-see for the theater.

Art: 6/10. I feel this could have been so much better, particularly in the real world story. Aside from the common complaints I have about movies these days (e.g. the use of dramatic music, beautiful film), the secondary characters just weren't there.

Acting: 2/3. I liked Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke. There was a lot more chemistry between them in the digital world than in the real though. For the rest of the movie, there were some cheesy moments that pulled me out of the movie. The secondary characters were pretty flat and it felt over-acted.

Music: 1/2. There weren't any hard thematic elements that I heard, but a lot of pop culture references and that made the movie. It wasn't quite genius, but it was pretty good.

Cinematography: 1/2. There wasn't much to do here as most of the movie was CGI. I liked the car maze at the beginning of the movie but there really wasn't much there to work with.

Art: 2/2. The CGI was amazing. Plain and simple. That is all.

Editing: 1/2. It was common and really didn't pop for me anywhere.

Story: 3/4. I debated on a 3 or a 4 for this but there's enough going for it that you can bypass some of the distractions, it's a solid story. But, there's not really quite enough to pop for me emotionally. The theme resonates with me - a lot. There was some layering with the main characters (although one critic pointed out that the secondary characters had no layering and I would heartily agree) and the wrapping up of subplots was pretty good. There was one moment that made me mad towards the end and that doesn't happen too often.

Directing: 2/3. The CGI and the story carry the day here. I was really disappointed in the secondary characters and some moments in the real world.

Production: 2/2. This story was well worth making for a couple of reasons. #1 - It's the 80s. And 90s. And even some from the 00s. #2 - This movie is a movie. This movie will not work as well on the small screen.