My Thoughts on Wonder Woman: 1984

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels on the DCEU’s new Wonder Woman: 1984 film. In case you have no idea what I’m talking about (How is that possible?), I’ve posted the trailer below.

Where do I start with this disaster of a movie? I guess I'll begin with what I liked about it, so I don't come off as an angry troll. And be warned, SPOILERS are inevitable.

The beginning scene is all about young Diana entering an Amazonian competition on the Themiscrya. Unlike a lot of people, I loved this scene. Maybe I'm a sucker for any storyline featuring the awesome Amazon women. Honestly, I'd love a whole show about them with or without small Diana. HBO Max, make it happen!

I also really enjoyed the mid-credit scene at the end of the movie. (Technically it's a mid-credit scene, but there isn't an end-credit one, so....) However, I felt that the entire purpose of that mid-credit scene was undermined by the fact that the golden armor Wonder Woman wore played no real role in the storyline whatsover.

Now, onto the dislikes. One, is the plot, which was boring and convoluted. A wish stone combined with a business mogul who wants to take over the world does not captivating television make. I also, unlike many, didn't think Pedro Pascal's acting was all that great here. Kristen Wiig's as Cheetah on the other hand, I very much enjoyed despite the script being ridiculously stupid. Also, can we stop depicting women who wear glasses and can't walk in heels as nerds? Barbara, aka Cheetah, worked in the Smithsonian for Pete's sake. All of her co-workers were nerds. She's also a skinny attractive white woman in the '80s.

But wait! The dumbness of the plot thickens. Chris Pine comes back as Steve Trevor, but he does so in someone else's body! And since Diana sleeps with Steve, she also sleeps with this guy's body. Non-consensually. Where's this dude's conscious? Does he know he slept with Diana? From the ending it doesn't seem so, but yikes. This plot point could have been written any other way, but Patty Jenkins, writer and director, chose to go this route.

Back to the boring and confusing parts of the story again, the wish stone apparently has no consistency. The businessman played by Pascal also just runs around trying to improve his career aspirations, and I guess he can interpret the wishes however he sees fit? Because some of the wish stone wishes he grants are not exactly what the character making the wish asked for, especially in the case of Barbara. Who also kind of got a second wish when you're supposed to technically only get one. Oh, and somehow Diana can fly now? And turn things invisible? Which makes no sense in the continuity of the DCEU since she couldn't fly or produce invisibility in Batman v. Superman or The Justice League. And let's not talk about how the Smithsonian just happens to have fully-functional planes laying around.

All in all, this movie is a hot mess. I am so disappointed in it. Since Wonder Woman was the only thing holding the DCEU together, in my opinion, I feel like this film did a great disservice to her character and her future appearances. Do yourself a favor, do not watch this movie. It's not worth risking your health for in theaters, and it isn't worth the price of an HBO Max subscription. If you already have HBO Max, sure, go for it. Just know that it is nothing like the first film and, in this case, that is not a good thing.

My Thoughts on Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels about the Maleficent: Mistress of Evil film. In case you haven’t seen it, I’ve posted the trailer below:

So I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first film. It wasn’t bad, but, at the time, I just wasn’t super into Disney villains. I also have never really loved Angelina Jolie. She’s had her moments, but her acting is kind of stiff to me. That didn’t change for this film. Jolie was still stiff and awkward, but the storyline was A+.

My favorite part of this film was the aesthetic. The dark fey are awesome. Dark and magical in appearance and demeanor. There are so many different types of wings and appearances. For someone who had no idea these characters were being added, I was super invested in their culture and lifestyle to the point where I would love a TV series just about the dark fey. I especially loved Connall and Borra. Unfortunately, those are the only two dark fey we really get to know, but I still enjoyed them immensely. (I am going to give a SPOILER here that this film uses the typical overdone and awful trope of killing off the black guy. I was upset.)

Two other parts of the film I loved aesthetic-wise were Michelle Pfiefer’s portrayal of Queen Ingrith and the Moors. Of course, the Moors and the fairies there were in the first film, but I guess I didn’t appreciate the pretty, bright colors when I watched it. The animal-sidekick hedgehog creature wasn’t as cute as I think it was supposed to be, though. I actually thought the mushroom was cuter. But Warwick Davis was in this movie, and that’s always a plus. I wish we could’ve seen more of his character. He was kind of underutilized. As for Queen Ingrith, she’s the stereotypical evil queen, but her outfits were on point. Plus, she’s played by Michelle Pfiefer.

For this installment, Prince Phillip, Queen Ingrith’s son, was recast. I think the new actor did a decent job; however, I don’t really remember the first actor’s portrayal, so that isn’t saying much. Now sadly, Aurora and Maleficent were both kind of meh for me. BUT, their ending scenes were beautiful. Their relationship is something that isn’t seen much in Disney films, and I’m glad their bond exists for younger kids to experience and possibly relate to.

All in all, this film has its ups and downs. The aesthetic is magical and amazing, but sometimes, the acting isn’t quite up to par. The storyline was lyrical and lovely, with some exceptions, but the ending was a little too convenient. (Again, it’s a Disney movie.) Though, it does do a good job showing the consequences of violence.

My Thoughts on Birds of Prey

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels about the new Birds of Prey film. In case you haven’t seen it, I’ve posted the trailer below:

I went into this movie thinking at least 80% of the drama and controversy was unwarranted. I’d heard a lot of hot takes saying fanboys were getting angry about female empowerment and having female directors and producers for the film. So, when I watched this for the first, and probably last, time, I was disappointed that it seems like a lot of the anger for Birds of Prey was warranted. Not because of the female empowerment issues (because I’m all for that), but because the movie just sucked.

First off, Birds of Prey is Batgirl’s group. Not Harley Quinn’s. Why in the world did DC not make a Gotham City Sirens film with Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy?!? It would’ve made so much more sense to do that instead of butchering the other female DC characters. Like Cassandra Cain, who is supposed to be a bada$$ assassin. For this film, she was turned into a weak little pickpocket with a broken arm. Wth.

Also, Huntress was ridiculous. The actress is the same one who played the villain in Sky High, so all I could picture was Gwen Grayson having random mood swings. Ick. I did like the actress for Black Canary, though, once again, they ruined her backstory by choosing to go with a more recent comic book storyline versus her original origins. Oh, and the bad guy, Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask, was turned into a joke. He’s a major Batman villain, but now he has zero potential. I seriously cannot believe the DCEU let this film be part of its canon.

As for the plot, we mostly following Harley Quinn, which is expected. The first half was really, really boring. Harley mopes, gets drunk, buys a hyena, eats a sandwich, and very little happens. Yes, the hyena is cute and the sandwich storyline was fun, but it was just shot in such a dull way. I don’t even know how to explain it. The second half did pick up the pace, but the action scenes were cringey. Fun at times, but cringey overall.

So I am dumping on this movie pretty hardcore. And I don’t know if I’ll ever consider it canon, despite its inclusion of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. But the film did have its fun moments. They were rare, as most scenes were either A) boring, B) cringey, or C) ridiculous, but they did exist. I’d say, if you’re curious about this film at all, rent it. Do. Not. Buy. It. Birds of Prey is not worth the $20 it would cost to own a copy.

Overall, I’m really sad that this is one of the first female-comic-book-hero-group film adaptations we get, and it’s just blugh. What’s even sadder is that I don’t really like a lot of the female Marvel characters, so if they do a female team-up film for those characters, I won’t care. The DCEU had the opportunity to really do something, and they blew it writing-wise, directing-wise, and just character-wise. This film is reason numero uno why actors shouldn’t be allowed a say in their characters’ storylines when it comes to adaptations.

My Thoughts on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels about Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker film. In case you haven’t seen it, I’ve posted the trailer below:

So I watched The Rise of Skywalker when it was added to Disney+ on May 4^th. I didn’t see it in theaters because I wasn’t a big fan of The Last Jedi. Thus, there was no reason for me to pay for a $10 movie ticket when I knew all the Star Wars movies would eventually be on streaming. I’m really glad I waited. Not because The Rise of Skywalker was bad—I actually enjoyed 80% of it—but because it was ridiculously LOOOOOOOOOONG. I’m not sure my bladder would’ve held out for a theater viewing.

Besides being long, my thoughts can be summed up with “it was good.” Not amazing, but good. There were a lot of “force feelings” that were a little odd. Otherwise, it was a solid film. There was plenty of action, and the plot was fairly easy to follow. I was concerned with the return of Palpatine, but the way it played out was actually pretty interesting.

Even though a lot of people think Rey is overpowered (me included), I still think she kicks a$$. Her storyline and the way it mingled with the first three films actually impressed me. Even the Kylo Ren parts. And I am NOT a fan of Kylo Ren. I also thought all of the new (and old) droids and creatures were fun. There were some cute moments. I felt so sad for poor Chewbacca, though. I won’t go into spoilers, but his storyline was the only one that made me tear up.

Although I enjoyed Rey, Leia, and the droids and creatures, I have to admit that sometimes Poe and Finn got on my nerves. Finn’s role during the entire film just seemed to be overacted yelling, while Poe was able to make terrible decisions in The Last Jedi but still become a high-ranking operative in the Resistance. Talk about Glass Escalator. It’s kind of sad how the two characters were made to be so awesome in The Force Awakens, but their story (like most of the characters) got messed up in the sequels. I mean, Finn was a stormtrooper who joined the Resistance! He could have had a way better storyline. (Oh, and again, no spoilers, but why are the current showrunners of Star Wars obsessed with having characters ride terrible CGI horse-like creatures. It didn’t work out in The Last Jedi, and it just looked weird in this film as well.)

All in all, other than the strange “force feelings” that all of the main characters seemed to have, as well as a few questionable storylines for our two male characters, I was impressed by The Rise of Skywalker. It had beautiful scenes and imagery. Some of the shots were just gorgeous. And Rey is so kicka$$. I’m actually sad to see her go, though as Luke said in The Last Jedi, I too think “It’s time for the Jedi to end,” or at least, the Skywalker saga. Thankfully, we still have Baby Yoda….

My Thoughts on Onward the Movie

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels about the recently-released Onward film. In case you haven’t seen it, I’ve posted the trailer below:

Like a majority of Americans, I watched this film via Disney+. I hadn’t planned on seeing it in theaters, not because of virus reasons, but just because the movie didn’t look all that great. The animation is more Dreamworks style than Pixar style (nothing wrong with Dreamworks’s style, I just wasn’t expecting it from Pixar), and I’ve never been a Tom Holland fan. Oh, and Chris Pratt, while he has played some fun characters, has his fair share of issues that I’m not sure how to feel about. So yeah, I was going to pass on this one until it came out on Disney+ anyway.

Onward starts off really slow and sloggy. The family and their voice actors just weren’t meshing well for the first thirty minutes. And while there are fun magical creatures, I don’t think they’re ever fully utilized. I wanted more from the world-building in this one, and it just never explored anything beyond the family dynamic. There was an explanation for why magic was gone in the world, but nothing about how it could/would/should come back.

Once that initial slog passed, things really got underway. I can tell you exactly when the pace picked up and the humor really came about, and it has to do with a certain gang of small beings. I’ll leave it at that so no one is spoiled, but those things were amazing. They were the best part of the movie. After that, I really began to love the brother dynamic between Ian and Barley. And oh-my-gosh, did their relationship make me want to sob. (My parents were watching the movie with me, so I had to hold back my tears.)

Honestly, this film really hits its stride in the last half. The sibling relationship, the mother-sons relationship, and the father-sons relationship all come together in a jumble of feels. Definitely don’t watch this unless you’re prepared to cry. Tissues are a must.

All in all, Onward is a good film. It had action and adventure perfect for any Dungeons & Dragons or fantasy lover, and it has all the emotions you’d expect for a Pixar movie. Just trudge through the first half-hour, then you’ll definitely want to stick around to the end.

My Thoughts on Avengers: Infinity War

It’s time for me to share my thoughts and feels about Avengers: Infinity War!!! In case you haven’t seen it, I’ve posted the trailer below. But why haven’t you seen it?! It’s only the biggest movie in the world!

Okay, first thing to note is how awesomely epic this film is. I had pretty high expectations for this movie, and it met most of them and surpassed others. All of the characters are intermingled well, and the plot, despite being based off a comic, is actually difficult to guess at. There are a lot of surprises in this one.

First, though, I’m going to keep on that discussion about characters. There are so freakin’ many in this movie! Of course, there are the original Avengers, the Guardians, the newbie Avengers, and all of Thanos’s crew. Even though the Guardians are not on Earth, they fit in perfectly with the characters they team up with. There’s so much witty banter and crazy hijinks! It also seemed like every character got a moment to shine, even if they weren’t one of the more prominent members.

Speaking of more prominent members, Thor! Thor is my favorite Avenger (followed closely by Cap, and then, probably Scarlet Witch). I’m just super excited for his storyline. I can’t wait to see what pans out for all of them in next year’s movie.

As for the plot, it was just all over the place! In a good way. Thanos is a really good villain. Some of his moments were a little predictable, but the lengths he went to to achieve those moments were crazy! He’s by far the most developed of the MCU villains. And this movie makes the film his superhero story.

One thing I also have to discuss before I wrap this post up is my thoughts about the CGI. The CGI was incredible 95% of the time. There were only a few instances when I was startled by it. One of those instances was kind of jarring though. I was a little baffled that Marvel would do such a bad job in that one scene. Otherwise, though, there was only one bad guy (bad girl, technically) who I thought should have been CGI-ed in a Hulk- or Thanos-esque manner—meaning using the actress’s face as a basis for the CGI instead of building an entirely new CGI face. But, really, with how fantastic the graphics were in this film, I can forgive them for having a screw up or two.

All in all, Avengers: Infinity War is the movie of the year. It’s the culmination of ten years’ worth of MCU films, and it’s a blast of good jokes, awesome action scenes, and wonderful characters coming together onscreen for the very first time. Just please go see it before someone spoils it for you.

My Thoughts on the Black Panther Movie

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels about Marvel’s new Black Panther film. In case you have no idea what I’m talking about (How is that possible?), I’ve posted the trailer below.

Obviously, this movie was very highly anticipated. My roommate has seen it at least three times, that I know of. It’s a cultural phenomenon now, and I’m totally happy it’s made such an amazing impact. But for me, personally, this movie wasn’t my favorite of the MCU films. I think it falls somewhere in between Spiderman: Homecoming and Ant-Man for me. Both of those films were good, but I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about them. Same with Black Panther.

The characters in this film were amazing. The plot was as well. Instead of a one-off villain with no real backstory or motive, we got a decent antagonist, Killmonger, who just wanted to help those who’d been put down by a corrupt system. And of course, Michael B. Jordan is very good looking, unlike a lot of Marvel’s other villains.

I thought Chadwick Boseman and all of the other actors did a good job with their characters. The only thing I would complain about in this regard is how Letitia Wright, though a good actress, looked a lot older than the sixteen-year-old she was supposed to be playing. I know it’s common to hire older actresses and actors for teenage roles, like Tom Holland for Peter Parker, but I just don’t really like it when a 21-year-old plays a 16-year-old.

My other major complaint had to do with the CGI. It was so obvious, and I was expecting better from a movie in the MCU. I’ve heard that maybe this was a stylistic choice from the filmmakers, but I just don’t know why they would take a step back, considering how far they’ve come in their CGI over the years.

Overall, this particular film wrestled with some big issues. I think Captain America: Civil War is the only film that really tackles societal issues somewhat head on, and it definitely didn’t have as much of impact as Black Panther does. I’m glad we got to see a hero struggle with such a major concept. I also think the ending fight scene had a lot of power.

Now, I don’t think I need to tell everyone to go watch this movie. It’s the last MCU film before Avengers: Infinity War comes out, and obviously, everyone needs to be caught up before the biggest film in the franchise is released. For the sake of my sanity and yours, please go watch this film.

My Thoughts on the Justice League Movie

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels about the Justice League movie. In case you haven’t seen it or want more reference, I’ve posted the trailer below:

I have to admit that before I went into this one, I knew I probably wasn’t going to enjoy it. Mostly because things were spoiled for me via friends, family, and/or social media. I also knew from my past experiences with the DCEU (DC's movie universe) that I wasn’t going to love this movie.

One reason I knew I wasn’t going to enjoy it was the CGI. It’s awful. I knew that from the trailers and from Batman vs. Superman and Wonder Woman. Yes, even the almighty Wonder Woman movie had terrible CGI. Not only was there the problem of Superman’s ugly mustache-removed lip, but the villain was ridiculously fake. And, I complain about it every time, but the fight scenes look like video games, not real life.

As for the characters, I don’t really know how they could get everyone’s character development except for Wonder Woman’s and Cyborg’s so absolutely wrong. Batman is supposed to be a great detective and a hero who wants to work alone. He was neither of those things in this film. Flash wasn’t funny, nor did Ezra Miller’s character make me like him. I’m not super attached to the TV version of Barry Allen, but I for the life of me can’t decide why they went with Miller instead of getting someone more serious for the role. If they wanted a comedic aspect, they could have brought in Hal the Green Lantern, or god forbid, made Aquaman’s lines actually witty.

Speaking of Aquaman, he was a mix between a drunk and a surfer dude with no consistent plot points. Did he live in Russia or Norway? Or did he just travel between the two super fast? Also, there was weird smiling during some of the action scenes from the heroes when smiling probably wasn’t warranted. I mean, it could have been the end of the world and the heroes were SMILING!?

Oh, and before I forget, we need to talk about those Amazons. I mean, what the heck Zack Snyder?! What the heck? Patty Jenkins gave you perfectly good Amazons and you go and throw them away for whatever that mess was? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame the actresses. They were doing the best they could with what they were given, but those outfits and skirts made me very unhappy.

Also, I have to say it one more time, even though it’s kind of SPOILERY, but I still loathe Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luther. LOATHE.

The plot of this movie also wasn’t very compelling. It mostly consisted of getting the team together, which is sad because as viewers, we’re not attached to any of the Justice League members except for the main three—Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. The bad guy of this film didn’t seem that almighty to me, and I just didn’t really see what his boxes were really supposed to accomplish? It was all rather confusing. Basically, the DCEU really just needed to use the Marvel formula to introduce all of their characters before diving into something as big as the Justice League.

All in all, I simply didn’t like this movie. I didn’t laugh or have any sort of emotion at any point in the film. It was that meh. For someone who has loved previous Batman movies and even enjoyed Man of Steel, this was just bad. Wonder Woman is the only redeeming quality of this film.

Sadly for me, I’ll probably be sticking to Marvel films for a long time. At least until DC gets its shtick together.

My Thoughts on Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels on Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In case you, for some inexplicable reason, haven’t heard of the eighth installment in this mega franchise, I’ve posted the trailer below:

Alright, so, first thing’s first, the trailer made this movie look way better than it actually was. The mood in the trailer is dark and atmospheric. The mood in the movie: odd.

I loved The Force Awakens. Now, I’m not the world’s greatest Star Wars fan, but I enjoy it every now and then. So, adding on another film trilogy was super fun for me. Even Rogue One was entertaining. But this movie lacked The Force Awakens’ overall fun, action-packed energy. The jokes were also severely lacking. BB-8 is about the only humorous part of the movie.

I can’t go into too much without giving away spoilers, but I just thought the way the Force worked in this movie was strange. There was no explanation for why some of the characters could do the things they did. I also found the balance of the Force mojo crazily off-putting. It was like a mind-game mystery or some Inception-level stuff, not a space story.

Also, while the story follows the same characters in The Force Awakens, they were just different in this installment. Rey was a strong heroine, but she made off-putting decisions. Poe was reckless and stupid. I am very glad he got his comeuppance, though. I can tell where they were going with his character’s story, but the entire portion of his, Finn’s, and Leia’s plotline was just boring. It was almost like the filmmakers were trying to put in filler storylines between the Rey and Luke scenes. Oh, and Luke was weird. I’m very baffled by his character arc.

I could totally tell what messages they were trying to achieve with this film about heroes and war, but something just wasn’t working. I know I’m not alone in this because a lot of The Last Jedi watchers have voiced their complaints.

Overall, I was disappointed in this film. Will I see the ninth movie? Absolutely. Will I be expecting to enjoy it? Not if something doesn’t drastically change between the two sequels.

My Thoughts on Thor: Ragnarok

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels about Thor: Ragnarok. In case you haven’t seen it and/or for some reason know nothing about it, I’ve posted the trailer below:

First off, I was wary going into this movie. The comedic aspect of it freaked me out a little. Honestly, I loved the serious aspect of the first two Thor movies, so having this third movie look so much like Guardians of the Galaxy was weird. I’ve got to admit, though, I liked the overall film. Yes, there were too many jokes, but I laughed at most of them.

Thor was different in this film. He was a little too joke-y. He also knew references that didn’t seem possible for him to know as a Norse god, like the whole “He’s a friend from work,” line. I also thought Hulk talking was too much. He seemed almost too smart. He went from can’t-talk-at-all to talking in almost complete sentences.

While the jokes were many, the CGI was really good. Hella’s outfits were on point, and Valkyrie was really kicka$$. I was super excited to see two strong female characters being awesome, even as not-so-good people.

The plot of the movie was also super fun. The scenes where Thor and Hulk fight were freakin’ awesome! I used to love Thor, but after watching Thor: Ragnarok, I LOVE Thor. His powers are amazing.

All in all, I’m super excited to see Thor in Avengers: Infinity War. Also, if you were wary like I was about seeing this movie, don’t be. It’s definitely a fun time that has a strong storyline, which I think should contribute greatly to Marvel’s overall world. Warning, though, there are some more adult phrases mentioned (i.e. the word orgies is thrown out there).

My Thoughts on Doctor Strange

Like yesterday’s post, today’s is a little bit late. Doctor Strange was released last fall, but I’m just now sharing my thoughts on the film. Ugh. #sobehindonlife

In case you know nothing about the film that I’m talking about, go ahead and check out the trailer below.

As for what I thought of the film, I’ll try to make this quick. I’ve heard that this movie got a lot of praise from various critics and the box office, and I’m glad. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as impressed with it as I wanted to be. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. I just was expecting a little bit more from Disney’s Marvel after seeing Captain America: Civil War.

Okay, I know I shouldn’t compare the two films. Civil War and Doctor Strange are completely different, as one has an already-established cast while the other is vamping a whole new world for us. However, I expected to love Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange a little bit more than I did. He was fun, but I wanted more of a Sherlock vibe from his character, and I think he went in a different direction than that.

I also thought the storyline was a little slow at first. There was a lot of Strange having self-pity and being a total jerkward, but once he got over his slump, I was captivated. Even Tilda Swinton managed to keep me interested. Towards the end, it was a lot like Inception mixed with the magic style of The Magicians (the whole finger and hand movements thing).

I was impressed with the cinematography and the overall magic system, but I think fans might have to separate the Avengers films from Doctor Strange for the time being. At least until the new Thor: Ragnorak movie comes out. I think that movie will open up the magic idea more so Strange connects to the overall established world a little better.

All in all, definitely watch the movie if you’re invested in the Avengers franchise, but don’t expect it to feel like an Avengers film just yet.

My Thoughts on the Suicide Squad Movie

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels about the Suicide Squad movie, mostly because I have a lot of feels. Lots of good feels. I’ve posted the trailer below, just in case you haven’t seen it yet. Although, I don’t see how that’s possible…

Okay, so I said awhile back that I’ve been pretty into the Bat Family storyline lately. Oddly enough, I hadn’t gotten into the storyline until after the Batman vs. Superman film (which was a very “meh” movie). All of that being said, I wasn’t too terribly excited to see Suicide Squad simply because of how crappy BvS was. However, I was more than just impressed with this film full of baddies turned semi-goodies, and I’ve got a list of reasons why.

My first main reason involves the cast. While some were a little off, like Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, even the off ones weren’t bad, just different. However, Harley freakin’ Quinn, played by Margot Robbie is pure genius. I LOVE her! I’ve never been a huge Harley fan, but Robbie is brilliant! She’s like the Heath Ledger of this DC film.

 

As for the rest of the cast, Will Smith was believable, Viola Davis was terribly bada$$, and the rest were hilarious and brilliant. The only exception: Jared Leto as the Joker. I don’t dislike his performance, I just felt Ledger’s was better. HOWEVER, I can understand how Ledger’s version wasn’t really one that would seemingly have a romantic relationship. Thus, the character had to change.

Now, let’s talk plot. The whole film wasn’t serious like BvS. There’s one major crazy plotline, and I think that really brought the dynamic of the team together. It was like a twisted version of The Avengers. I also really liked that the villain in this film was different from the heroes. You know, in Ant-Man, there was another shrinking guy to fight; in Iron Man, there was another guy in a metal suit to fight; and in Thor, there were other gods to fight. In this film, the “good” guys are fighting someone with different powers from their own. Thank goodness.

Oh, and before I forget, my last reason for loving this movie involves that soundtrack being perfection! I kind of want to buy it, and I haven’t purchased a film soundtrack since my Twilight days.

All in all, I’d say that it’s best to ignore the critics for this one. Believe me, it’s worth the watch, especially if you’re in any way interested in seeing Harley Quinn on the big screen.

My Thoughts on the Captain America: Civil War Movie

I watched Captain America: Civil War back when I went to the Fierce Reads St. Louis signing a few weeks ago, but I just now decided to write about it. #lazycollegestudent

Anywho, if you’ve been living under a rock in the bottom of the sea and haven’t yet seen the trailer for CW, here you go: 

Okay, now I’ve got to be brutally honest here. I haven’t really loved Marvel’s movies since Captain America: Winter Soldier. That was a really good movie. Avengers: Age of Ultron was, at first, blah because of certain relationships between characters who have no business being together (I mean, honestly! Black Widow and Hulk?! WTH!). Now, I’ve gone back and re-watched AoU, and I liked it a lot more. But don’t get me started on how terrible Iron Man 3 was. Ick.

Needless to say, I was hoping for better. And I got some better. Civil War is great. I enjoyed all of the characters (minus one I’ll get into later), and I thought the plot was a true testament to what’s going on in our society right now. Way to bring the comic book plot to the real world, Marvel.

Back to the characters though. Steve/Captain America was fantastic, as always, but I did have a problem with his character. It wasn’t that he was bad or anything; it was that he wasn’t in the movie as much as I feel the title Captain America: Civil War should warrant. Iron Man/Tony Stark hogged the screen time. And, while I may be in the miniscule minority in this one, I have grown to loathe Iron Man. Why? Because Marvel sticks him in practically every scene and allows for no real character development for the “side characters,” and instead puts funny Tony Stark in to save the day. Grr… But I could, for the most part, ignore Mr. Stuck-Up Stark.

As for the other characters, I really enjoyed Black Panther and Spider-Man. I didn’t know much about BP before, but I can’t wait to see him in his own movie. I did find it a little odd that BP got his own twist to the fight scene theme music that was jungle/African-based but no other character got his/her own music.

Peter and Ant-Man were hilarious, but as someone mentioned online somewhere, Ant-Man as a character was never introduced to the ex-Avengers. No one ever said his name out loud. Weird… But the female characters had me in so much love. I can’t wait for the Black Widow movie. She seriously deserves her own storyline.

As for the plot of the movie, it had me guessing the entire time, despite how much I thought was given away in the trailers. Yes, you know Team Iron Man is going to take on Team Captain America, but the logistics behind it are a lot more complicated than the trailers share.

All in all, this is a must-watch for any Marvel fan or even any kind-of Marvel fan, and I’m sure if you are a fan, you’ve already watched it. Civil War is funny, action-packed, and has some cool new and almost-new superheroes to add to the growing Marvel Cinematic Universe.

My Thoughts on The Jungle Book Movie

I watched The Jungle Book live-action movie when it came out, and I just recently had enough time to share my thoughts on it. So, if some of my comments seem a little off, it may be because the material isn’t fresh in my brain.

I’ve posted the trailer below, just in case you, for some unfathomable reason, haven’t seen it yet.

Okay, so I was skeptical when the idea of creating a live-action The Jungle Book was mentioned. Why? Because I’m not a huge fan of The Jungle Book cartoon version. It was okay, but there are a lot of other Disney movies that I liked 100x more (*cough* The Lion King *cough*). However, once I saw the first trailer for this movie, I automatically knew I’d be watching it in theaters.

I had watched Disney’s live-action Cinderella, and while I enjoyed it, it wasn’t amazing or anything. When I watched The Jungle Book though, feelings of childhood nostalgia rose up in me. I had never even been that connected to Bagheera, Baloo, and Mowgli, but once I saw that first beautiful opening sequence, I was hooked.

Every scene had such vivid detail, yet apparently, pretty much everything besides Mowgli was CGI-made. That’s insane. The animals alone would have been exhausting to create, but to do the plants and tress too, ugh. Some people just have too much talent. As for the actor who played Mowgli, he was really, really good. I can’t believe how fantastic he was considering he was acting at nothing.

Now, there are probably people out there who are unsure of seeing a movie that is essentially a reproduction of the cartoon, however, it’s really not. While the general plotline is the same, there are completely different scenes and some new introductions to characters that were very minor in the cartoon version. Additionally, Mowgli’s wolf brothers are absolutely adorable in this film, and what happens to that wolf family was incredibly shocking. I couldn’t believe Disney did that!

Despite my raving, I did have a few minor qualms. I didn’t like the voices for a couple of characters, like Scarlett Johansson as Kaa, but most of the main characters’ voices were spot on. I also thought King Louie was just too big. I know there was an actual ape that got to be that large once upon a time, but Louie was simply too big for the time period he was in.

All in all, even if you simply thought the cartoon The Jungle Book was simply an okay movie, you need to go watch the live-action film. It’s so much better and more detailed, and the action scenes are incredible. I for one can’t wait to see what they do with the sequel.

My Thoughts on the Allegiant Movie

I finally managed to watch Allegiant. I’ve been so behind on my movie-watching lately. It’s kind of ridiculous.

In case you haven’t seen the Allegiant trailer for some strange reason, I’ve posted it below:

I knew going into this film that hardly anything was going to be the same as the book. I accepted that with a very happy mind because I loathed Allegiant the book. (I have many reasons for this that don’t just include the ending, but that’s a post for another day.) And, for the most part, I’m happy with the movie. I have a list of things that were strange and awkward, but I felt things were infinitely better in the film than they were in the book.

I’ll start with the bad so we can get those little issues out of the way and get to the good stuff. Sound good? First off, there was some weird sci-fi technology in this film. The plasma bubble things are just ridiculous, and the shower scene goop… That stuff just ain’t right. Also, sometimes the tech, like the ships and the guns, were a wee bit cheesy-looking. Not always, but sometimes. My second issue revolves around Four’s mother. Now, she did look slightly older in this movie compared to Insurgent, but she still appears too young to be Four’s mom. Not a big deal, but still a small point against it.

Okay. Well, that’s really it for the bad. On to the good.

While Allegiant the film’s plot wasn’t the most unique one, I still really enjoyed it. Four managed to have some really kick-butt scenes which I couldn’t/didn’t want to take my eyes off of. ;) Caleb managed to be way better in this movie than he ever was in the book, and, for some reason, even though I’m not Veronica Roth, I feel like this was more true to his character. Now, Peter, I was worried about him, but he ends up showing his true colors soon enough. Unfortunately, Tris didn’t have as many action scenes as Four and she didn’t really redeem herself in any way, but I think she did grow a little in this film. I won’t say how because that’s a little spoiler-y, but she does.

As for the rest, the dialogue was good, the outfits were cool (and I finally know why Four’s pants were that awful red in the trailer and on the poster), and the soundtrack was great. Everything was new and refreshing in regards to the world-building, and I’m excited to see what Ascendant brings. Although, I’m not sure what they’re really going to do with the part two adaptation.

All in all, this movie kind of felt like it was just using the same characters from the past two films, but putting them in a completely different world. And, I actually liked it. So if you’re worried that you may not enjoy this movie because of Allegiant’s ending or just the Allegiant book in general, I’d say give the movie a try. It’s actually pretty good.

My Thoughts on the Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice Movie

I thought I’d share my thoughts and feels about the Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice movie. In case you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard about this particular movie, I’ve posted the trailer below:

Now, I knew going into this movie that it wasn’t going to be the greatest for a variety of reasons. One being Ben Affleck is not my Batman. Two, I’m more of a Marvel girl than a DC girl. And, three, I’d heard terrible things about it from the Thursday night premiere, which is sad because I went to see the movie on the Friday the movie came out. I was hoping reason #3 would mean I would be pleasantly surprised and thoroughly enjoy the movie, and it did help a little, but I was still underwhelmed by the whole thing.

My first complaint about the movie is that the beginning was ridiculously slow. Soooooo very slow. Also, Jesse Eisenberg is an AWFUL Lex Luthor. I don’t know how/why Zack Snyder decided Lex Luthor should be portrayed by Eisenberg, but I can honestly say Eisenberg’s performance had no redeeming qualities for me. I couldn’t find any believable motivation behind the character’s actions at all. Of course, this could also be because of the script. A lot of important plot points seemed to get glossed over or cut out throughout the movie while the angst between Batman and Superman just keep getting stronger for no rational reason.

My other critiques involve Batman’s weird dreams (not a spoiler because it’s the first scene of the film), the random and loud soundtrack, the excess use of special effects/CGI and blowing things up, and an Alfred that was too young when compared to the film’s Batman.

After all of that complaining, I do have to say that there were some good parts to the movie. Wonder Woman was awesome! I wasn’t expecting to like her as much as I did. Henry Cavill was really good as Superman (again) and Ben Affleck wasn’t horrific as Batman. Also, once the action picked up after the first two hours or so, it didn’t stop.

All in all, if you’re a DC fan, you have to see this movie because of obligations to the franchise, but if you’re just looking for a random movie to watch, don’t expect this to be the next Avengers. The characters are a lot less developed, the plot a little iffy, and the effects really cheesy, but hopefully the future Justice League movies will step up DC’s movie-making game.

My Thoughts on the "Severus Snape and the Marauders" Short Film

Have you all seen this yet? And by this, I mean the fan-made Harry Potter prequel short film. It’s fabulous! I found it via Teen Vogue’s article, but Justin Zagri was the one who created a story about J.K. Rowling’s famous Marauders and Severus Snape and brought it to life on screen. 

I, personally, am not sure how accurate the story is based off of Rowling’s character backgrounds, but I think it fits very well into the overall storyline. Just watch and you’ll see:

Does this not make you want a prequel series? I think I’m foaming at the mouth for one right now.

While I don’t necessarily picture all of the characters as the way they were portrayed, all of the actors had me in absolute awe. The actors who played Sirius, Peter, and Remus, to me, did a fantastic job of delving into their characters. Sirius was a carefree jokester. Remus was the logical one—some of the time. And Peter was a scared little weasel, err… Excuse me… rat.

However, while I enjoyed the depictions of Severus, Lily, and James, their actors just didn’t quite mesh with my interpretations of the characters. I felt like James came off as a little too aggressive. I know James was a bully, but that fight was very rough. Oh and also, the special effects for the fight were really good. Peter’s casts had me cracking up! But back to the characters. None of the actors were bad, some just didn’t match my vision of the characters, either the visions I’ve made through reading the Harry Potter books or the visions I’ve come up with from what I’ve seen depicted in the films. While I am nitpicking, I promise, these minor flaws—and when I say minor I mean microscopic—do not detract from the epic-ness that is this film.

All in all, this is an amazing display of the power of Harry Potter fans. We’ll never get tired of seeing the Wizarding World come to life, and I think, since we can’t always get a new book or movie (although we are getting one of each of those very soon *squees loudly*), fans are the best way to keep the world alive. I would not be disappointed at all if another video like this made its way into the world. Actually, I’m kind of hoping for it because this thing was, in the words of Ronald Weasley, "bloody brilliant!"

For more info about the film, check out the “Severus Snape and the Marauders” website.  

Note: There’s also another Harry Potter fan film called “The Greater Good” on the site. It’s about Dumbledore!

My Thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I’ve watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens twice now, so I thought I’d share some of my thoughts and feels. If you haven’t watched it, please don’t read this post unless you don’t care to get spoiled. I’ll try not to spoil anything, but I make no promises.

And, in case you have been living under a rock in the middle of nowhere for the past six months or so, here’s the trailer:

Okay, so my first point has to start with the opening scene. Did anyone else feel like bursting into tears when the music came on and the intro started scrolling up? I’m not even that big of a Star Wars fan, but I just felt so nostalgic. I also felt this way when Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’s trailer showed before the movie, even though I’d already seen it on my computer. I’m getting sappy in my old age. Hee.

I think I felt this way throughout the entire movie. It was just so surreal to see Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and the rest of the gang on the screen with the new cast. This new cast was fantastic, by the way! I think they did a great job of blending the newer feel from the prequels with the atmosphere of the original films. And Daisy Ridley as Rey is fantastic!!! Rey is an amazing, phenomenal, brilliant female character! And she’s amazing in that she isn’t feminized into being “female.” All of the women in this movie are not treated as inferiors because of their sex in any way whatsoever. Of course I don’t remember Leia or Padmé having this issue, either, so kudos to you, Star Wars. Daisy also really looks like some certain people who I won’t mention in detail. And Rey’s strength and will are just refreshing. I think she’s my new woman crush.

Finn and BB-8 were awesome. BB-8 is adorable and Finn is entertaining. I didn’t like the cast of the bad guys, for spoiler-y reasons I shall not mention beyond their appearance. But the eh-ness of the bad guys was overshadowed by the old cast. Yes, they weren’t in the prime of their lives, but they looked good.

The plot was a little bit familiar towards the ending, but the beginning was new and awesome. Rey and Finn’s mysterious origins have my family coming up with wild theories and Googling possible answers to all the questions the movie poses. The movie’s plot itself isn’t confusing in any way, but after it’s over, you keep asking who people are and why they are where they are.

All in all, you have to see this movie. It is a fantastic addition to the franchise and a fun movie to see if you don’t even know anything about the Star Wars world. I’d recommend this to EVERYONE!