THE GIVER (2014) – My rating: 8/10

This is a strange but enjoyable movie.  Meryl Streep as the head elder, certainly sparked things up a bit.  The Given is based on a book written by Lois Lowry.  This fantasy/sci-fi focuses on a concept that gives new meaning to life.  What if we could live in a complacent world where there are no wars, no killings, no deformed mines, no indecision?  A world where your life is decided for you, down to your occupation.  To achieve such a paradise, we would have to give up something.  If you think about it, you’ll know right away that we couldn’t really be our selves.  There would be no emotions or feelings and much more of our selves would have to be controlled somehow.  This movie delves into a colorless world without love and emotions.  Jeff bridges plays The Receiver of Memory and then the Giver.  The new Receiver is played by Brenton Thwaites, who is bound to change the world.   The concept is wonderful but the reality is more than man can stand.  Because of who we are and our curious nature, we must have reality.  The Giver is nicely done.  A little slow at times but very interesting.  However, you wouldn’t be missing anything if you wait to see it on DVD.

LUCY (2014) – My rating: 8/10

I really loved this Sci-fi, futuristic movie.  Lucy who is a student in Taipei, is 1 hour and 28 minutes of non-stop action.  Scarlett Johansson was beyond  eye candy.  After forcibly becoming a drug mule, carrying  a leaky bag of synthetic drugs containing CPH4 (a substance produced during pregnancy),  in her stomach, Lucy instantly starts using the more than normal 10% of her brain.  Going further than mankind has ever known, Lucy goes out to seek revenge on the crew responsible for her abduction and illegal smuggling as well as transportation of drugs into the streets using unwilling subjects.  This movie is slick, fast, action packed and sexy.  I thought the movie was too short but very effective, so time well spent.  Morgan Freeman played college professor Norman who gave us powerful information regarding the nuances of the brain’s capacity.  The special effects were pretty good but nothing new.  See Lucy on the big screen or wait for the DVD.  You won’t see too much difference in the two.