After being struck by a piece of space equipment in the middle of a severe storm on Mars knocking him unconscious, Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left stranded on Mars after his crew fails to find him. Once he awakens from being unconscious, Mark immediately realized he has been impaled by the broken part of the space equipment and evidently (in a very gruesome fashion) pulls the piece out of himself.

Watney, using his study in Botany, his inventiveness, and sheer willpower he uses the resources he has to try and survive on Mars. NASA on the other side of things, finds that Watney is alive and and work tirelessly to find a way to get Mark Watney back home. 

After two months of training, Mark’s crew finds out that he is alive and upon this finding out devise a plan to try and rescue him from Mars. With help from international forces and the faith of the whole world, everyone waits in anticipation to see Watney arrive home.

The Martian is a captivating story of a man’s struggle to survive and defy the odds. Although the movie was a little lengthy, I hadn’t checked my phone during the movie because it constantly kept my attention unlike other movies I’ve seen in the past.

Matt Damon, who is one of my favorite actors, truly captured the essence of what it would feel like to be the only person around.

The humorous quotes The Martian brought to the film lightened the mood while simultaneously creating background and character to Mark Watney. Such quotes include, “ I don’t want to come off as arrogant here, but I’m the greatest botanist on this planet” … and “Technically, Mars is international waters, meaning Maritime Law applies. And since I am illegally commandeering a vessel in international water under maritime law, that makes me a pirate. Mark Watney : Space Pirate.”

‘Crimson Peak’: Visually stunning horror

Crimson Peak is the story of young American author Edith Cushing, who falls in love with a handsome stranger. As a child Edith experienced an encounter with her mother’s ghost, who warned her to “beware of crimson peak.”

Years later, Edith meets Sir Thomas Sharpe, an aristocrat from Cumbria, England who charms Edith and comforts her after the mysterious and violent death of her father. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Thomas and Edith marry and return to England with Thomas’s sister, Lucille.

Edith’s past with ghosts poses a bit of an issue when she finds herself in a new home full of them. Allerdale Hall, Thomas and Lucille’s home, is a crumbling mansion that sits atop a mine for red clay. This mountain of clay has earned the name “crimson peak.” When Edith learns the nickname she realizes that this was the place her mother had warned her about, but by the time she does it’s too late.

The movie was rather visually stunning, and the plot interesting, but the execution was a perfect mess. There was too much story to fit into one movie, despite the movie being two hours long.

The characters were flat and undeveloped. One of the “stars” of the movie, Charlie Hunnam, played only a small role and was hardly seen. I found the plot twist to be a bit predictable, but nonetheless horrifying. In fact, the twist was probably the most prominent part of the movie just for its disturbing quality. The special effects were remedial and there were plenty of cliche moments throughout the film. There were some suspenseful moments, but I found myself cringing more at the sight of gore than cringing with fear.

Overall, if you’re looking for a horror movie with an intricate plot then I’d suggest this one. But if you’re not big on flat characters and cliches, you might want to skip it.