Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Saturday 5 January 2019
'Escape Room' is high-concept and not half bad

By LINDSEY BAHR escape room. There's the
Associated Press skittish but brilliant college
In retrospect, it's actually student Zoey (Taylor Rus-
kind of surprising that there sell), the ruthless finance
hasn't been an escape guy Jason (Jay Ellis), the
room-themed horror movie veteran who hates heat,
until now. The popular inter- Amanda (Deborah Ann
active mystery games are Woll), the regular joe, Mike
kind of mini films. There's (Tyler Labine) and the es-
a built-in set, stakes, op- cape room obsessive who
portunities for conflict and honestly never does all that
teamwork and a logical much to help, Danny (Nik
start and finish. It's certain- Dodani).
ly a more obvious fit for a Curiously no one seems all
movie than a board game that concerned about the
or theme park ride. odd premise that this team
So, from the imaginations activity could have a single
of "Fast & Furious" producer winner at all, or perhaps
Neal H. Moritz and "Insidi- they think they'll all win
ous: The Last Key" director $10,000. I guess it becomes
Adam Robitel comes "Es- clearer when people start
cape Room ," where the This image released by Sony Pictures shows Taylor Russell in "Escape Room." dying in the rooms.
characters are as random Associated Press And, boy, are they put
as an audience-chosen through the wringer. The
improv group (Investment to die on). looking really bleak for Ben, standby. have to brave extreme
banker! Soldier! Miner! As if the film is concerned it cuts to "three days ear- The thing is, "Escape Room" heat, extreme cold, poison,
Smart teen! Grocer!), the that the audience will lose lier." It's cheap and a little isn't actually all that bad, drugs, rising tensions and
rooms look like discarded interest immediately, "Es- insulting to have to reassure just kind of silly, but it takes body counts while trying to
Nine Inch Nails music video cape Room" starts at the the audience that there is a moment to readjust your figure out how to get out of
sets (not exactly a criticism), end, as a lone man, Ben some exciting and harrow- expectations after that each puzzle room, a few of
the stakes are $10,000 or (Logan Miller), desperately ing stuff to come as long condescending beginning, which are pretty interest-
death, which seem far too tries to figure out the clues in as they get through all the and a very phoned-in in- ing. It's like a "Final Destina-
low and too high, and ev- a room that is quickly clos- boring introductory stuff. At troduction to the unlucky tion" spinoff where each
eryone agrees that Petula ing in on itself, "Star Wars" least it doesn't resort to the six Chicago strangers who character's past trauma
Clark's "Downtown" is a bad trash-compactor-style. It's old record-scratch, freeze- all receive a mysterious haunts them. Mercifully, all
song (which is both incor- certainly a jolt of energy up frame, "you're probably box and decide, what the the carnage is kept to toler-
rect and a strange, rude hill front, but right as things are wondering how I got here" heck, let's check out this able PG-13 levels.q

Sandra Oh, Andy Samberg want lighter

tone at Golden Globes

nual Golden Globe Awards
in Beverly Hills on Sunday
night. She and Samberg
were first paired as award
presenters during a comi-
cal set at the Emmys last
year when Oh ripped up
the winner's envelope, ref-
erencing the 2017 Oscars
"La La Land" slip-up before
the duo pieced together
the card and announced
the actual winner.
"I know when Andy and
I were talking about the
feeling that I really want
Sandra Oh, left, and Andy Samberg pose for a photo on the red to bring, and really focus
carpet at the 76th Annual Golden Globe Awards Preview Day
at The Beverly Hilton on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, in Beverly Hills, on, is just to have a mo-
Calif. ment of joy," said Oh, who
Associated Press is favored to win a Golden
Globe award for best ac-
By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. a much more serious ap- tress for her "Killing Eve" role.
Associated Press proach centered on the "Honestly, with who is going
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ac- #MeToo movement. to be in that audience, the
tress Sandra Oh wants to Oh said Thursday that she nominees this year, it ex-
bring a lighter tone to the and fellow host Andy Sam- cites me so tremendously
Golden Globes after last berg will provide a "mo- ... mostly because of the di-
year's awards show took ment of joy" at the 76th an- versity in that room."q