Jamal AndressThis week in the box office top 3 "Maze Runner" is better than expected and Liam Neeson is still pulling off movies he's way too old to be in.
"I will find you and I will kill you." OK, OK. Sorry Mr. Neeson
"Who put us here?"
"We don't know."
Number one at the box office this weekend is another young adult drama based on a best-selling novel. The Maze Runner is estimated to bring in $32 million this weekend and has solid reviews.
But with the third installment of "Hunger Games" on the way and "Divergent" working on a sequel the big question seems to be can "The Maze Runner" — yet another teen flick set in a dystopian world — stand out among the rest?
Forbes film writer Scott Mendelson says this drama passes the test, writing "The Maze Runner is an impressive riff on the Lord of the Flies archetype, blending boys’ survival stories with fantastical genre elements into a stew that is frankly more successful than I expected."
"These guys are monsters, they're not human."
"How can I find them?"
*Man jumps from building*
At number two this week is Liam Neeson's "A Walk Among the Tombstones" which brought in an estimated $13 million and drew the exact same rating from critics.
But after Taken, Taken 2, The Grey, and Non-Stop it seems Neeson and his particular set of skills has officially been typecast.
"It's kind of a western, kind of a film noir kind of a modern crime drama but it's also a Liam Neeson movie which has become it's own genre."
"Adding to Liam Neeson's bad-ass hunting down bad guys genre of movies ... the prospect of Neeson intimidating people for two hours hasn't quite lost its edge yet."
And lastly, "This Is Where I Leave You" the which pulled in an estimated $11.8 million this weekend but has critics and movie-goers split on the quality of the film according to rotten tomatoes.
The one thing everyone does agree on: the all-star cast. Tina Fey, Jason Bateman and Jane Fonda have all carried movies on their own and having them all on screen at once seems to be as rewarding as we all expected.
As for next week, Denzel Washington as Liam Neeson!
"I'm offering you a chance to do the right thing. Take it."
For Newsy I'm Jamal Andress
