Saoirse Ronan Has a Heartwarming Performance in Lady Bird

By: Ally Hickman

 

Accomplished director Greta Gerwig’s featured debut film as a writer and director, Lady Bird, is a funny, heartwarming yet entirely real story of an angsty Californian teenager dying to grow up too fast.

 

Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson is portrayed by the Irish-American actress Saoirse Ronan. Ronan was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Actress for her leading role. Lady Bird is an explosive mix of sympathy, isolation and conceitedness. Her unique nickname is a way of self identification that pushes the limits with her family and school. Even though we never learn where she got the idea of her nickname, her character accurately portrays a typical teenager with the need to become independent and rebellious.

 

She has a best friend, Julie (Beanie Feldstein), who struggles with weight problems but is a much better student than her. When they both decide to try out for the school play, Julie emerges as a quite gifted actor as well and Lady Bird is given a non-speaking part in the chorus. Although, it is here that she falls in love with the quirky theatre star Danny (Lucas Hedges), who kisses her despite a later more complicated relationship ending. Lady Bird also falls for the too cool Kyle (Timothée Chalamet), who proves himself to be unsatisfactory as well. While she struggles with her social life, her overwhelmed mother, Marion, continues to try and keep the family functioning and together. Laurie Metcalf’s wonderful performance is emotional and raw. Marion has to take double shifts as a nurse, because Lady Bird’s dad (Tracy Letts) had been laid off recently. She is controlling and angry around Lady Bird in ways she is unable to explain.

 

The beauty of this film is built through the relationship between mother and daughter. It is impossible for teenagers to understand the complicated emotional lives of their parents which results in a rift between anger, frustration and love. As for Marion, it is evident she begins to realize that as her children grow and leave home, it is no longer about her anymore. These sacrifices that must be taken in order to comfortably say goodbye to your children take a grand gesture of self-sacrifice and perhaps Marion is not ready to make that gesture. The captivating performances from Metcalf and Ronan beautifully illustrates the difficult mother-daughter relationship we are all able to relate to.

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New Netflix Movie Portrays American Issues

By: Bianca Potts

 

If you want a movie that has your emotions all over the place, I highly recommend “American Son”. The movie takes place in the Florida Police Station where we are introduced to Kendra  ( Kerry Washington) an African American mother who is traversing in the station waiting for information on her missing son. While she waits for her husband Scott (Steven Pasquale) the sons Caucasion father to show up .

There is a lot of tension in the room between Kendra and officer Larkin. Larkin was really ignorant to Kendras feelings and concerns for her son's safety. Paul is a young racist white cop to illiberal to see how serious this situation really is. Larkin continued to asked stereotypical questions like “You know, "also known as." Like, street names.”  which when asked made the tension in the room go through the roof. The officer showed no real interest in helping until Scott showed up which then he had all the answers to any questions and open to any concerns..  

 

The vibe was really eerie and had you think the worst was yet to come. They are in a glass department and you can see that it is storming outside. The time was at 4 a.m. so the weather being rainy and stormy brought a dark mood. The way that the weather was set up was really good when it came to the main characters being in a dimly lit place in the morning because her son Jamal, didn't come home last night.  

 

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After; Make-up or Break-up?

By: Shania Wolfe

 

After opens with narration about how certain moments in life seem to define a person, and from that point, the cliches don’t stop. 

If there’s a defining moment in the life of Tessa played by Josephine Langford, it’s either meeting, being annoyed by, falling in love with, being heart broken by, or reuniting with love interest Hardin Scott played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin. 

 

This movie is adapted from the first book in Anna Todd’s series of novels, which might explain why nothing here seems to be on the life-defining level promised by the opening voice-over. However, there isn’t so much an isolated story as there are about three major events, culminating in a final promise that future installments will provide us with something more. 

 

After connecting over a party game of Truth or Dare, Tessa and Hardin soon get hot and heavy, at least in a PG-13 kind of way. The pair goes swimming in a secluded lake, each of them maintaining a degree of modesty, until Hardin shedding enough clothes to indicate a serious tattoo fixation. 

 

Things between the pair escalate, or maybe they don’t. It’s difficult to tell if the director is simply restrained by the expectations of a young-adult romance, in which all of the sexy bits are implied, or if we’re meant to take the scenes of sensuality at face value, in which case the couple basically undresses a little more with each encounter before cuddling. 

 

In the end, it's revealed he told his friends that he'd make Tessa fall in love with him and he'd just turn off his feelings for her. This declaration is captured on video and shared with Tessa toward the end of the movie.  And, though Hardin attempts to win Tessa back, the movie ends on a cliffhanger of a different kind, leaving it open ended about whether Tessa will choose to ultimately forgive him.

 

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Another Hit from Director Jordan Peele

By: MiAsia Hawkes

 

“Jordan Peele’s US is a movie that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.” 

US combines morality and horror to catch the audience successfully. With a plot twist that could not be seen easily if not at all, it completes its purpose as a movie. Jordan Peele, the director of award-winning and worldwide box office smashing Get Out, is not too unfamiliar with outputting blockbusters as you can see. 

 

The movie starts from the protagonist’s point of view when an event occurred as she was a child then jumping to her as an adult. 

US does not seem to follow the typical template of a horror movie, as we can see there are many humorous scenes throughout the film, despite it being a horror film. But in another aspect it also does, as there is a lot of action, plot twists and suspension.

 

The main character Adelaide, was played by star actress Lupita Nyong'o, a familiar face to most as she played roles in Marvel film “Black Panther” 2018 and Disney’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in 2015 which instantly hit the charts.

 

In my opinion, US is a 5-star movie of 2019. The film gives an excellent, on point plot twist which makes the brain think in overtime, keeping you anxious and filled with tension---with a bit laughter in between.

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The Only Way Out is Through Him

By: Brendan McColigan

 

The thrilling manhunt mission of “21 Bridges”, focuses on the dark hero/homicide driven detective Andre Davis (Chadwick Boseman) as he is on the trail of two cop killers. Davis’ father died while he was only a teenager. After that tragic event, Davis swore to himself that he would pursue the truth and justice no matter what it took. 

 

During this film Manhattan is a hunting ground; for Davis who begins to solve a massive mystery that links his fellow police officers to a criminal empire. Now he must decide who to pursue, and is sceptical of who could be pursuing him. 

 

Davis' trigger finger will be put to the test to solve a citywide conspiracy, when a cocaine heist goes amiss and the cop killers (Stephan James and Taylor Kitsch) escape by murdering eight police officers. Getting a move on, Davis orders a total barricade of Manhattan; with no chance to get off the island, he and the rest of the N.Y.P.D. have only one night to crack the case. 

 

During this substantial thriller it seemed that the spending budget for ammunition must’ve been through the roofs, with the film seemingly using thousands of rounds. The production budget for this film was $33 million, however the film only grossed $12 million throughout the U.S., Canada, and other territories.

It's a major battering ram of a movement picture, however it is not moronic. The stunts and action sequences are executed on a dime, Paul Cameron's enthusiastic camera skills strike the streets of Philadelphia into a perfect illusion of what seems to be Manhattan. 

 

The ending of 21 Bridges not only unveils the true conspiracy behind the whole film, but also changes the significance of the first scene, when we see Andre questioned by Internal Affairs after he has shot another police officer on duty. This seems to portray Davis as a violent cop that will make sure the two robbers die rather than getting caught. In the end Davis succeeds in taking down the suspects, with killing one of them and arresting the other after their surrender.

 

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Journey Through Birdbox with Sandra Bullock as your Guide

By: Catherine Milligan

 

*SPOILERS*

 

Bird Box, directed by Susanne Bier forces the audience to put themselves in the shoes of Malorie, the main character. In a world completely flipped upside down Malorie, played by Sandra Bullock, is forced to survive without her sight.  

 

The fact that Susanne Bier was willing to take on such a powerful movie is reputable and she deserves more praise than what was given. Bier is a Danish female film director. As a female in the film industry, women have one shot to make it big. The Netflix original, “is the biggest first-week success of any movie made for the company’s nearly 12-year-old streaming service” (AP News 1). Almost 200 million streamers viewed the movie in the first week of its release. However, the movie has been receiving mixed opinions.  

 

The movie is based on a mysterious force that takes over the world and forces anyone who sees it to “self- destruct” and commit suicide. The only way they can survive is if they travel an extremely dangerous route  across the river to a safe house. Everything they do must be done blindfolded to avoid looking at the evil force. Malorie is met with a group of other survivors before her she takes her route. However, the force takes over once again and she is faced with the challenge of travelling alone with two children, Girl and Boy.  

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Before the evil force comes, the characters tone is carefree and simple. The only worry Malorie has is her pregnancy and life as a future single mother. The tone and dialogue of the film quickly changes when people begin doing dangerous things and ending their lives. The characters completely change their dialogue to tense and shaken. 

“Malorie is stern and commanding – Bullock’s in drill sergeant mode, not America’s sweetheart – and she doesn’t care about sounding kind. Outside, there are creatures who will kill you with a gaze”(The Guardian 1).

 

Sandra Bullock’s acting saves the movie. The movie is a bit off-tone and shaky.

“Bullock is so good, though, that her performance puts the rest of the thing in even junkier relief”(Vanity Fair 1). It’s far from reality and is extremely overdramatic. Without Bullock’s intense emotion, the movie wouldn’t get as much praise and applause. I personally think this is one of the better movies done by Bullock. 

 

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IT Sequel is a Hit

By: Cynthia Faber

 

Since the beginning of time, Penny-wise has been using Derry to hide in sewers and feed on children. The Losers club, who thought they had defeated Pennywise, have grown up to be successful individuals.

 

 Ben, once a fat new kid on the block, grows up to be a fit architect. Richie, a trash talker, grows up to be a well known comedian. Eddie, who is a hypochondriac, owns a limousine company and marries a woman similar to his mother. Stanly, who is apart of the tiny jewish community in Derry, becomes a successful accountant and ends up committing suicide. Bill, a stuttering child whose brother was brutally murdered by It, becomes a well renowned author. Beverly, a daughter to an abusive father who is bullied constantly in school, becomes a fashion designer and marries a man similar to her father. Last but not least we have Mike, who watched his parents die in front of him in a fire, he is the only one in the Losers Club who stays in Derry as a liberarian. 

 

Overall this movie was well put together and you can tell that a lot of effort and time went into making this movie perfect. The casting was perfect. Every adult actor looked just like the child actor in the first film. The acting was well done between both the adults and children. I particularly enjoyed the back and forth between past and present, it really helped the audience understand the plot holes in the first movie. 

 

While this movie is classified as a horror film, it is not particularly scary. Personally, I am the type of person to get scared by jump scares and there were very little to none in this movie. However, the gruesomeness of the film gives it an unsettling feeling. I always liked how IT takes the position of one of your worst fears, but it was hard to watch some scenes were blood was everywhere. For example, the scene where beverly is stuck in a bathroom stall with blood slowly filling in to drown her. 

 

Overall, the production of this movie was great. I enjoyed the actors and just how the scenes were put together. If you like creepy and gruesome scenes and deaths then this movie is definitely for you. 

 

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"We're in the End Game Now"

By: Lazaro Hernandez-Rosas

 

The movie avengers infinity war is such a good movie because it's the first movie to bring all the heroes from each of their movies together in one. They have to all work together to bring down one of their biggest enemy yet which he is called Thanos who is trying to get all six infinity stones to bring balance to the universe by eliminating half of it and also could turn him into the most powerful person in the universe by collecting all six stones. This movies brings their first loss and break up from their last movie which makes it makes it hard for them to even work together when the threat is their biggest one yet. This movie brings them a big loss, lots of them lost loved ones and failed their planet, many of the heroes disappeared and some died. The movie was released on April 27, 2018. The movie was produced by Marvel Studios which what they are aiming for is that they are trying to end one saga and start a new one with new heroes by ending it with the old ones with their final showdown. The movie Avengers Infinity War has been nominated four times and has been nominated by The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and the awards they have won are two one of them are by the People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie in 2019. The Movie is literally in the top five of all time worldwide box office and has an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and it is the most viewed trailer on youtube. The movie leaves everyone with a cliffhanger which made people excited and sad at the same time to see the next movie.

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"I Love You 3000"

By: Riley Hylton

 

The Avengers Endgame movie came out on april 26 2019. Endgame is the final avengers movie that tells about the final battle between thanos and the avengers team. After thanos “snapped” and removed half of the population the surviving avengers tried to find thanos and keep the earth and the universe in balance. With Tony Stark stranded in space with only Nebula and the rest of the avengers left on earth trying to help the earth get over the loss. After Ant-Man comes back from the quantum realm and Tony manges to make it back from space with Nebula. The Avengers go after Thanos. All in all the movie was really well done. With amazing actor some who end up dying.Viewing it you can really feel with the characters that you have grown to love and find out so much more about the characters and their lives and you can feel the pain when they don't make it . After Thanos died the first time the avengers go back to their lives and tony and pepper  go off and get married and you find out that they have a daughter and see really cute scene between Tony and his daughter. The movie takes a tragic end when Tony takes the stones and uses them to erase thanos army but in the end Tony do not make it and dies. This movie is a must see if you are a marvel fan and it really wraps up everything that happened in past movies but also gives room for more Marvel movies to come.

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