The Stone Witch at Westside Theatre

The Stone Witch is currently playing at the Westside theatre. It is a good show, but it is overshadowed by the production values. Upon entering the theatre, you are immediately taken in by the gorgeous set which is covered with magical creatures and has a child like whimsy to it. In various parts of the show, you are treated to gorgeous projections depicting the illustrations found in the children's book the characters are working on.

Simon Grundberg (Dan Lauria) is a world renown children book author and illustrator. However not having written a book in twelve years, his editor Claire Forloni (Carolyn McCormick) is desperate for a book she can put out by Christmas. Peter Chandler (Rupak Ginn) is a young hopeful who is sent by Claire to inspire Simon into writing his new novel with the promise of $10,000 and his own chance of being published after the fact.

Peter reluctantly agrees and meets Simon in the latter's woodland cabin. Simon is fighting some demons who are preventing him from writing. Peter soothes these demons, but Peter is also bursting to get his ideas seen. He is unsure how to help Simon, but is willing to try anything once things begin to go awry.

The majority of the play takes place in Simon's scenic cabin. Only two scenes are not set there and one of them is unnecessary. I honestly forgot it existed up until this point! Anyway, it is fun to see the world surrounding the cabin come to life while also seeing Simon's demons projected behind him.

The Stone Witch is a wonderful show, but I did feel there was something missing in the overall story. I am not sure what exactly, but it definitely dealt with the overall storyline. There were some aspects of Simon's that were brought up, but not fully explained. There were also weak explanations for other things brought up about Simon. Simon is an interesting character, but there was too much background in his story and not enough ways to tie them in together.

The actors were great as well. Carolyn McCormick was the perfect blend of professional editor who can intimidate others to get her way while also caring for them. Rupak Ginn was good as well, but there were moments that did not feel authentic. Dan Lauria was fantastic as Simon Grundberg. He had a commanding presence and was able to portray all the aspects of the character in a manner in which the audience was able to sympathize with him.

Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018)

"The Maze Runner" has always been vastly different from the books. I am a book purist and tend to hate movie adaptations if they vary too much from the source material. I didn't mind too much with the first installment, hated the second and having disliked the third book welcomed the changes the third installment had to offer.

This franchise was welcomed overall as it featured a male lead in a dystopian future as opposed to the female leads that seemed to dominate the dystopian young adult franchises. I obviously enjoyed reading the female lead novels and watching their adaptations, but it was interesting and refreshing to read a male authors' perspective.

"The Maze Runner" follows a group of young men as they are dropped into a maze and must find their way out. Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) and his friends quickly discover they are pawns in a corporation called WICKED's trials. Thomas and his friends are immune for the most part to the "flare", a disease that turns humans into zombie like cranks.

Thomas has one simple goal: escape WICKED's clutches with his friends alive. It is difficult to do so as he and his friends are pursued relentlessly by WICKED as they try to find a cure for the flare.

"The Death Cure" opens on Thomas and his friends as they hijack a train in order to rescue their captured friend Minho (Ki Hong Lee). Unfortunately, they take the wrong train car and Minho ends up in WICKED's headquarters. Testing continues on Minho as he is tortured in order to speed up the process of finding a cure. Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), the only female in the maze with them, is one of the scientists involved in torturing Minho which angers Thomas as he had strong feelings for her.

That is the main plot of the film: find a way to rescue Minho and escape with all the other immunes in tow. There are some surprising reunions and fun action sequences.

The film is action packed and the pacing keeps things interesting. There are a lot of coincidences, but there are even more in the book. Yes, these coincidences are annoying and extremely convenient, but if you have read the book they are easy to ignore.

There is a lot to digest in this film and could have had a shorter run time, but honestly I highly disliked the book and so the problems in this film did not bother me as much. I have heard mixed reviews from casual movie goers though. I say the action is fun and the pacing keeps the film moving. It is not the best film in the young adult dystopian category, but it is still engaging and worth a watch.