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Reviews by: @starwards1 " You don't live with me, you live among the remains of dead people. You sift through the detritus, you read the terrain, you search for signs of passing, for the scent of your prey, and then you hunt them down." Heat is a film like no other. A sleek, suave gritty crime thriller with neon vibes and a raging explosive nature. A thrilling and exciting masterpiece, it has one of the most gripping narratives I've seen in a while. An easy contender for the most badass film ever made, Heat is a sprawling crime epic for the ages. A manic chaotic film where the stakes are raised every second, the crime thriller to end all crime thrillers. Heat has the perfect blend of style and substance, at times a melancholic tale of loneliness and a life of crime and at times a riveting procedural crime drama. A thief Neil McCauley and Lieutenant Vincent Hanna go head to head in a battle of wits, one that is seriously intelligent and compelling. Heat may be riddled with stylish action set-pieces and action scenes but it's one of the smartest and most expertly crafted films of its kind. Heat is a 170 minute grand story that is exhilarating throughout. You know, I didn't expect what I got from Heat. It's a cold, cold film. Dark and pessimistic, even taking into account the highly entertaining action sequences. But more than that, Heat is a pretty deep film. Thematically. Michael Mann decided to focus the film on our two lead characters instead of just the plot based film it could've been which would've resulted in a fun, yet ultimately forgettable trip. The philosophy of these two men, Neil and Vincent is brilliantly well portrayed. Oh and btw, this goes without saying but Robert De Niro and Al Pacino absolutely KILLED their roles. Michael Mann refers to the film as a crime drama, which makes sense because it's based on a true story and is naturalistic. It almost feels Scorsese-like at points, considering the way it handles many characters over a long period of time. But still, I think the core of the film, and the reason I cared so much for it, are the two lead characters. They're two brilliant people at the top of their game with a dynamic of pure electricity. You have no idea what's coming next, and you don't even know who you're rooting for. The film is just wild. And yes, I think it's a pretty profound film, with great ideas explored about fate and breaking down what these two men really are, Neil is nothing but a thief, and that leads him to his fate. These men are attracted to this life, if you can even call it a life. A hellish way of living but the only way they know. The inevitability of their actions resulting in the weight that this movie brings is just amazing. But yes, it's also so, so, so, so cool. There was not one moment where I wasn't completely entertained by the film. The way Mann stages and pays off with his action is amazing. The opening heist and the highway shootout were scenes I rewatched endlessly after finishing the film. Shoutout to his use of guns, really realistic and immersive, his gunshots are deafening and it's nearly indistinguishable from real life. And the suspense is also just on an other level, looking away from the coffee shop scene for even a second is impossible. And man, the level of detail on this film, the way every small plot thread and character has a role to play, proves the genius writing of the movie. A grand masterpiece, and one of the best movies of the 1990s. By @starwards1

Reviews by: @art_fanatic_313 A helicopter crashes near the prison, so Rick, Michonne and another guy go to see what happened. When they don’t find anyone, dead or alive in the crashed helicopter they look around and they find a city nearby, with a bunch of people. This city is controlled by a guy who calls himself the Governor. When Rick, Michonne and that other guy arrive there, they take them in and torture them so that they can find where they came from, in order to go there and get everything they want. Back at the prison, everyone is very worried about the three people who left and Carol says to Lori that she wants to marry her and Rick. Lori react very poorly to that and that damages their relationship a lot. This was a very good chapter and many things happen in it. For starters, we get introduced to the character of the Governor. Robert Kirkman clearly tried as hard as he could to make him one of the most hateable characters ever written. He cuts off Rick’s arm, he repeatedly rapes and tortures Michonne, he keeps in his house the heads of the people he kills or has killed and he looks at them like they are tv, he also keeps his daughter who has turned into a zombie and he’s feeding her with people he kills, he generally feeds people to the zombies, so that they’ll be calm (the zombies, not the people) and he also makes people fight to death surrounded by zombies, in order to get the inhabitants of his city satisfied. I guess I can understand the logic behind that last one (I certainly don’t approve it tho). He does what they did back in ancient Rome. If you provide food and entertainment for the people they’ll be satisfied and they won’t try to overthrow you. While that has some logic, it’s still absolutely terrible and it’s been proven from history that after some time that tactic stops working. We learn from a doctor that before the zombie apocalypse, he used to be a good man, so I think that he’s a very good example of how this terrible situation can change people for the worse. In his character we can also see how Rick could’ve become if he wasn’t careful and if he was a bit more of a psychopath. In this chapter, Rick is way more calm and it’s obvious that without the stress of leadership he’s able to function much better. While I love Rick’s character, I have to say that his wife, Lori, really annoys me. I can understand the logic behind her actions and reactions, but I still don’t like her. I don’t know if Kirkman intended to write her as an unlikable character, but I think that she really is. In this chapter there’s a lot of action and it’s very well written, but equally well written are all the dialogues and monologues, although from what I’ve read so far I think that Kirkman’s true talent is writing captivating stories and creating very tense situations. I love the artwork in this volume. The artists have a very good sense of how to properly “direct” the panels. The angles and points of view are always very interesting and work very well. Also, all the faces are very expressive and all the action scenes are awesome. Overall, this was one of the best chapters so far. Some parts were hard to read, because of how horrible were the things the Governor did, but it was still amazing. It was all very depressing, pessimistic, stressful and captivating and I loved it! 10/10 By @art_fanatic_313

2021 Director: Leigh Janiak Starring: Kiana Madeira, Benjamin Flores Jr., Olivia Scott Welch, Julia Rehwald, Fred Hechinger, Ashley Zukerman, Gillian Jacobs, Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, Ryan Simpkins etc. Original Post Slasher is a subgenre of horror films that your pal here might’ve just finally realised she loves. The genre has provided some timeless classics such as the Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Streets film franchises, all films that have shaped horror ever since their release but sadly, in modern days it’s been hard to find slasher films that are as exciting as those were. While the psychological horror category has been thriving with haunting releases such as Midsommar and The Babadook, slashers have been slower at finding their path again. And what a better way to get back to it than adapting the works of the man that has kept a whole generation of kids awake at night: R.L. Stine is most famous for his work on the children horror novels Goosebumps, but as the prolific author that he is, he’s tried his hand at a variety of horror genres which lead him to create a series of novels for an older audience. The Fear Street books were aimed at teenaged readers and it’s very satisfying to see them be adapted into a classic teen slasher series of films. This July saw Netflix be taken over by Leigh Janiak’s three films as they got released every week through the month, their X factor being that rather than following a chronological order as most films do, Fear Street would reveal its plot while travelling back in time. So, let’s cut to the chase: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD Fear Street Part One: 1994 – This trilogy’s present is none other than the nostalgic 90s and this is the time-period we’ll revert back to throughout the trilogy, it’s where our protagonists are in action trying to uncover the mystery behind what’s been happening in their little Shadyside town and their rival town Sunnyvale, but they’ll have to delve deep into the past to figure that out. Deena (Kiana Madeira) is our lead, a strong/hot headed teenager who’s recovering from a recent breakup with Shadysider turned Sunnyvaler Sam (Olivia Scott Welch), the two are eventually brought back together by the dark events that occur. On their adventure they’re joined by Deena’s geeky brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) and her high school friends: cheerleader Kate (Julia Rehwald) and comic relief Simon (Fred Hechinger). The five of them will struggle their way through a witch’s course while escaping from several serial killers, all is initially caused by one of them disturbing the course of the curse and that’s all I’ll say before I go too much into spoiler territory. As you may have noticed, each character represents a classic trope that is often found in such films but throughout the three films they all defy what is expected of them and subvert these tropes. For example, Kate and Simon aren’t just the cheerleader and comic belief but they’re shown to be struggling to make ends meet as they dabble in drug dealing, Josh also doesn’t remain the geeky loser but becomes the brain of the group whose extensive knowledge on killers turns out to be incredibly helpful. Fear Street 1994 has the hard job of setting up an ambitious trilogy while subverting tropes of a genre that spans decades, and while it solidly succeeds at doing both, it sometimes loses itself in its ambition as it rushes through story beats. It also struggles with too much exposition and has what you could call “cheesy” dialogue which ruins some of the more intense scenes. Overall, 1994 is a fun slasher that doesn’t take itself too seriously and although it’s rough around the edges, it does a good enough job in setting up a thrilling trilogy and it has one of the most iconic kills I’ve witnessed in a slasher *cough* bread slicer *cough*. Rating: 7/10 Fear Street Part Two: 1978 – In this second part, we see our leads gaining further information on what the curse is and how it works through the help of C. Berman (Gillian Jacobs), the only person who managed to survive one of the many massacres that have tainted Shadyside. The film goes back in time to 1978 as Berman recounts the horrific events of the summer camp she attended as a kid. The teenaged group that leads this story is formed by the headstrong Ziggy (Sadie Sink) and her older sister, the goody-two-shoes Cindy (Emily Rudd). With them there’s Cindy’s easy-going boyfriend Tommy Slater (McCAbe Sly) and her ex best-friend, the unruly Alice (Ryan Simpkins) with her boyfriend Arnie (Sam Brooks). 1978 retains the strengths of its predecessor as it again defies tropes: by the end of the film Cindy lets down her façade as she becomes a hero with Ziggy and Alice following suit. Not only does the film subvert tropes, but it does so while still being able to offer brilliant call-backs and tributes to the classic slashers that we all love, it’s no stretch to say that the Camp Nightwing Killer references Jason from Friday the 13th. The direction feels much more confident as Leigh Janiak finds her footing and Fear Street begins to find its own identity. This film’s plot is more balanced and the film is a fun teen slasher 101, with a darker nature and more gore. In between brutal kills, the film continues to develop the witch’s curse from the previous film and develops its intriguing lore to provide enough new information for the next film but without overdoing it. 1978 spends the same amount of time both on its typical slasher sequences as well as the lore-building ones, neither ever feels neglected as they both enhance the other and are solidly developed by the end of the film. The problem of too much exposition persists as a lot of information is delivered through monologues but the increased confidence in direction, stylistic camerawork and slasher tributes do a brilliant job at making up for the film’s weaknesses. Rating: 8/10 Fear Street Part Three: 1666 – After discovering useful information, Deena is closer to finding out who is behind the curse and the way she can find that out is through re-living the memories of the witch, Sarah Fier (Kiana Madeira/Elizabeth Scopel). This is where the film starts, 1666 begins with a group of young people sneakily organizing a late-night party and it is Sarah Fier and Hannah Miller’s (Olivia Scott Welch) forbidden mutual attraction (or should I say dalliance 😉) that leads them to be hunted for witchcraft. 1666 might just be the most intense part out of the three films, once sh*t hits the fan the film doesn’t let you breathe as its brutal events lead to the saddest moment of this trilogy. What stood out in this part is the cinematography, while this was strong and consistent throughout the films, in 1666 you can see a change in style as more handheld and shaky shots/movements are used in order to emphasize the intensity as well as the rudimental atmosphere of the era chosen. Perhaps the accents could’ve used some more work but as a non-native speaker with no ear for accents, the accents did not seem to take away from the brilliant performances. All actors truly took it up a notch in this one, especially Kiana Madeira during you know what scene (hint: hand). This is also the longest running film of the three and there’s a reason, midway through we revert back to the present as we’re welcomed with a 1994 Part Two title card, a very nice surprise. Knowing what they know now, Deena and Josh team up again with Berman and a new friend, Martin P. Franklin (Darrell Britt-Gibson) the Shadyside’s mall janitor, to finally take down the culprit behind everything and put an end to the curse. I could best describe this film as a mix between 1994 Part One and 1978, while this retains all the cheesy dialogue and visual style of the first film, it also retains the stronger and confident direction found in both 1978 and 1666. On top of that, this part is just incredibly fun to watch! Not only does it take inspiration from classic slashers, but it also takes inspiration from old-school comedies such as Home Alone in the way our cast uses creative booby traps and schemes to lure and trap the culprit. Fear Street 1666 takes the best out of its predecessors to provide a satisfying conclusion to this trilogy, it does retain some of the common weaknesses mentioned already such as cheesy dialogue and exposition, but it does so much more beyond that that it’s easy to overlook those shortcomings. Rating: 8/10 I don’t want to forget mentioning Ashley Zukerman who plays Sheriff Nick Goode in 1994 and Solomon Goode in 1666 because he also gives a great performance. However, it would’ve been hard to not spoil things if I was to mention him in plot summaries. In conclusion, the Fear Street Trilogy provides three fun teen slasher films that were exactly the horror fix needed after such bleak year, they progressively improved with each entry and although they may not be perfect, it’s easy to see that a lot of care and detail went into it. Despite having several tributes to classic slashers, this trilogy manages to find its own identity as it tells a heartfelt tale about a group of outcasts raising above their backgrounds and obstacles. I can’t finish this review without talking about the representation these films offer: minority groups characters have been known to be the first to die or to be the passive token of horror films, Fear Street takes that and throws it out of the window by putting in its front and centre the queer relationship between Deena and Sam. Everything that happens in these films is because of them, and it’s a delicate representation where the focus is never on the struggles they face due to their sexuality as their caring for each other is what gets them through the terrible events they face. I’m almost done, I promise, but I also must give a shout out to the soundtrack composed by Marco Beltrami with help from Anna Drubich and Marcus Trumpp. While the call-backs to the 70s and 90s hits were great, I must admit that my favourite piece is the evocative Maiden Rock featured in 1666, the whole soundtrack for that part is beautifully enchanting. Trilogy Rating: 8/10 By @planetnameless

Reviews by: @beyondfandom1 The King is finally here! After months of high anticipation, Black Panther finally makes his debut in "Marvel’s Avengers. Marvel’s Avengers: War For Wakanda" expansion pack was released on August 17, 2021 as a free expansion pack to all players. This free expansion to Marvel’s multiplayer action game adds Black Panther as a playable character, as well as a well-written story campaign and a handful of new multiplayer missions. While all of these are things are great new additions to the game, the game still suffers a little bit from its original problems such as its repetitiveness. Let’s get into some details about this expansion pack. War For Wakanda not only just introduces us to T’Challa himself, but also Princess Shuri, Okoye, the Dora Milaje, and Wakanda itself. One thing I love about this game in general is the storytelling. This game has not missed when it came to the storylines which each expansion pack and they certainly do not miss with this story for this one. War For Wakanda takes place after the events of the main game’s story and we see Black Panther doing his best to protect Wakanda from… you guessed it. Ulysses Klaue. But it isn’t just him. He is surprisingly joined by Crossbones as they plan to steal the country’s most valuable resource…vibranium. Klaue is basically raging chaos all across Wakanda in which he is testing the patience and even the morals of T’Challa. We even get to see Shuri challenge the way that her brother is running the kingdom. Although the Avengers are present to lend a hand, this is very much Black Panther's story. It's about him and the lengths he'll go to protect his people, leading to a lot of rather intense situations as Klaue walks some lines. With Wakanda in general, it’s a fantastical and rich country making players want to explore it and see its many secrets (which is what I did and why it took so long for me to complete the story). The developers of this game have done such a great job with making Wakanda awe-inspiring and vibrant in detail. Crystal Dynamics has gone to great lengths to not only build upon the basic history of these characters that many know and love, but also utilize the rich mythology that has been seen in the comics. It mixes the modern, advanced era of Wakanda with its ancient roots in a really exciting way to inform the world and characters, similarly to how Wakanda is portrayed in Marvel’s Black Panther. While the new expansion does offer a lot of good, there’s still a little bit of bad to go with it. One flaw of this expansion is that I thought the story was too short. With the rich history of Black Panther and Wakanda, you would think the story would be a little long. Not as long as the main story that focused on Ms. Marvel but something that was longer than both of the Hawkeye’s. I caught myself yelling, “That’s it?!” as soon as I finished it. Which means that I still really enjoyed it. My main problem with this game is that there is still a repetitive feel to this game. While Black Panther (and all the other characters) are still very fun to play with, there is a notable repetition that is doubly hindered by the fact that things like takedown moves are unlocked via things like microtransactions. War for Wakanda also suffers from a lack of meaningful post-game content as well, sticking to the same routine and vapid grind that was there before. Although there's some improvements made to the UI and a few other quality of life improvements in the game, "Marvel's Avengers - War for Wakanda" is worth playing through for the brief story and Black Panther himself (who is now my favorite character to play in the game). This expansion shows some promise for the game in the future, and it seems that Crystal Dynamics is moving forward in the right direction with this game. Also, want to give a quick shoutout to some of the voice cast such as Erica Lutrell as Princess Shuri, Debra Wilson (MadTV) as Okoye, and most certainly Christopher Judge (Kratos in God of War) as Black Panther. Overall, this was a very fun expansion to play with and I had a great time playing it. The game tends to succeed at what it has always succeeded at (story, character gameplay, etc.) and fall victim to the fundamental issues that have been there since launch, something that may leave a bitter taste in the mouths of veteran players. But me, I’m looking forward to seeing what Marvel’s Avengers has in store next and I can’t wait. My rating: 8.5/10. Marvel's Avengers - War for Wakanda DLC is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Google Stadia. By @beyondfandom1

“If music be the food of love, play on, Give me excess of it; that surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die” William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night Music. It could be considered one of the pillars of our life. It influences almost everything. Our language, with its phonetics, our emotions which are influenced by vibrations and set our mood, our reality which is, theorically, made of vibrating strings. Music has been used by different artists to represent our society and its aspects. Music gives voice to the outcasts, the idealists, the dreamersa and the lovers. It's for everyone and it goes beyond race, social and economic status and political ideas. It's inspiring and life changing. It's like oxygen, which makes us breath and keep us breathing when we feel under pressure. "Music for me is like oxygen. Must have it to survive. For me the ability to write music is almost existential even though I'm not getting any big money out of it (yet!) it's a must do. It's a way of expression when words are not enough" This words come from a Swedish composer from Vänersborg. He's Karl Edh who isn't just a composer but he's also a guitar and piano teacher, in the same University which made him grow up into who is today. An artist who started his musical journey early in his life: "It began in the age of 8 when I got introduced to playing Trumpet at the local music school. I found it fun and interesting to play. A couple of years later a friend introduced me to hard rock music. I was totally floored by the sound of it and from there on, I was going to be rock guitarist! I started learning to play by listening to different hard rock songs and to play them the way they did. One band in particular was constantly in my ears, Deep Purple. Their guitarist Ritchie Blackmore was, and still is a great influence when it comes to guitar playing and songwriting. Later on my interest of writing orchestral music grew stronger allthough hard rock music will always have a place in my heart" And Deep Purple aren't the only band who influenced him profoundly. There're also Patrick Zelinski, wich he's been working with several times, Edward Grieg, Lars-Erik Larsson, Tony Iommi and Ronnie James Dio. Nevertheless his music tastes focus more on composers like John Williams, Danny Elfman and John Powell, who had a relevant role in his formation and represent a great source of inspiration. He felt in love with the Flying Theme of the movie Hook, The Spider-Man Theme by Elfman and the How To Train Your Dragon score by Powell. Such musical tastes explain why he likes a lot movies and series of the likes of Seven, Lord of the Rings, Schindlers List, Mindhunter, Harlots and Trust. Most of his ideas are generated by his surroundings and everyday life: "I get inspiration from everything, the every day life, a walk in the woods, a trip. But mostly I get inspiration from listening to other composers. It's the best way to improve your composing skills" Which have a role in his creative process, which I would define intuitive and open: "When I'm writing music it often starts with a melodic idea that pops up in my head. I then sit by the piano and work with that melody to see what can be made. Next step is to start orchestrate (which is the funniest part) and to decide where the musical direction's is going to be. During the process I listen very thouroghly to every part of the score to see what works or not" Today we're going to analyze ten of his best works to understand his art and his style. The River Mysticae is a tender and wonderful track which describes perfectly nature and its beauty. It's mostly made of an harp's light sound. I like how it pick it up pace after the first half with the implementation of archs, violins. There're voices scattered throughout this piece which are kept in the background but help us get deep into the world created by this composition. The next one is Cthulhu, apiece which homages a renowned Lovecraftian monster, the most fascinating in my opinion. It starts quiet and calm and it keeps this style till the tone shift and becomes more grandious. I've expected something more threatning but it sounds more like the build up of an incoming terror, which is portrayed as mysterious and magical. I think that this track would fit well in a Tim Burton movie. Hymn for a Bagpiper evokes Scottish or Nordic sceneries like mountains, moors and rivers. Nature, as always, is the first thing which comes to mind. Soft emerald grass and gentle wind breeze permeate the atmosphere created by this piece. Once the drums starts, it evolves into a march, an hymn as the title says, which makes me think about Highlander. Dystopia starts slowly, with a different kind of style. It's more futuristic. After a piano solo prologue it evolves into something more epic. The pace is consistent and the track focuses on creating a sensation of amazement. The following is Elves of Starlight which has a quiet and dreamy style. It's particularly soothing and the chorus makes for a stunning experience. It's short but effective. Above the Clouds is an upbeat track with a fast and dynamic pace which evokes a flying sensation. It seems like a Harry Potter score from one of the first iterations. It's an hopeful and uplifting composition. Sometimes it's a bit repetitive and cheesy but it works. Next is Sanitatem. It is a slow piece which uses a rising tone to evoke sunrise or space. It's a piece which would fit well in a BBC Documentary, one about nature and stuff like that. The Waterfalls of Eleon is one of the best. It's good at developing watery sensations about waterfalls. I imagine them huge, with water falling in a blue lake near an Elvish City. This track seems fit for The Lord of The Rings universe, especially for Rivendell. Tian Shan is another awesome piece, which is heavily influenced by chinese music. Tian Shan is a chinese mountain range and this piece seems like an ode to it and its country. Sometimes it uses familiar tones, which could be find in every soundtrack relative to the Chinese culture, but nonetheless is pretty well done and I appreciate it a lot. The last one is Inside Gravity. It's mostly made of electronic sounds but traditional instruments have a relevant role too. It's another inspiring track and it's pretty effective. I like how the piano has been used here and the general style of this composition. I find it a bit too short because it sounds more like a prologue than an actual act. Karl Edh has a lot of talent and a lot of good ideas. I think that his style could speak to a broad audience and get more people interested in classical and soundtrack music. He has a clear goal: "Well, to work full time as a composer for film and media is the ultimate dream. Not there yet but hopefully soon. I hope" And in his future there're live performances: "I will continue to write music in different styles and to develop myself. I've been in contact with a conductor of a symphony orchestra who's interested in performing some of my music live! Very exciting" Check him out and witness his inspiring and uplifting works. I hope that you'll be impressed like me. By @the_owlseyes

Reviews by: @the_th3rdeye Unless you are a person who works for Netflix or Made this show or just a film buff like me who has nothing better to do, I can bet you have never heard about this show. If I am right and you're wondering if it's worth watching since anyone barely talks about it, then you are at the right place. The following text will cover what is so great about this series and how its greatness led to a $200 million loss for Netflix and caused the show to be canceled after season 2. A non-fiction epic of the greatest explorer : As a brief introduction, Marco Polo was an Italian merchant who traveled through East Asia in the 11th century. This series is loosely based on a part of 'Travels of Marco Polo'. Although the series only covers his initial travels,the depictions were the pivotal events leading to Western trade in Asia. Summary : After a coercive landing on his merchant father's ship to the infamous Silk Road, a young Marco Polo gets tangled with his father's fallacy. Leading to imprisonment by the greatest Ruler on the Face of the earth 'Kublai Khan' the Mongolian Emperor who will stop at nothing to become the Emperor of the World. The story unfolds as Kublai Khan takes a liking to Marco Polo and what followed is a story filled with chaos, greed, pride, lust, envy, wrath, and so on. Now to the exciting part, let's see a list of things that made this mammoth of a series to be good and bad. Majestic Production Design : The series boasted a very precise and extravagant production design by Academy Award Nominee - Lily Kilvert (The Last Samurai) and Gary Mackay (Lord of the Rings & Crazy Rich Asians). It was also stated that the slum scenes were personally crafted by Lily Kilvert and it looked very realistic to the point where you think if it was really shot in a slum. The Palace of Kublai Khan and every room in it from the Conference Room to the Emperors' Rest area every room had precise detailings. This feat is incredible considering they could have easily designed and detailed the Palace with stereotypical Asian architecture, however they did not. They have carried about thorough research about Mongolian art and design. The Chinese palace is also done the same way, they made sure that the details and design are different from the Mongolian Palace. Thereby making the architecture of the two countries very different from each other. The cast who were trained to be their roles: Now, this isn't something new. Nearly all roles require this dedication by the cast , the Game of Thrones cast was literally 'whipped' into shape to carry the heavy swords , medieval props and to ride horses. But in this series, the western audience was fairly new to a Mongolian-based story. So there was pressure to show a difference, therefore during the fight between Kublai Khan and his brother, Hundred Eyes vs A general, there was a clear distinction in fighting styles. Hundred Eyes is a Shaolin Monk so he used the Shaolin style of martial arts, but Kublai khan never used the same technique, he seemingly used a mixture of a Mongolian martial art 'Bokh' and sword technique, so presumably, the cast had been under specific martial arts training, not just getting in shape but they learned proper martial arts. I personally am a sucker for martial art movies and seeing this I awed at a new form of fighting I was seeing. It wasn't only fighting the cast took their time on, they actually focused on Lingo especially Lorenzo Richelmy. Richelmy plays a Venice youngster Marco Polo and Richelmy himself was born and raised in Italy, during his interview with TheWrap Richelmy admitted that he did not know English and had to learn English for this role and he is now fluent in it. Actors learning skills for a specific role isn't something new, however learning a whole new language just for one role, says a lot about the actor. The next important role that caught my eye was The Mongolian Emperor himself played by Benedict Wong, watching him play Kublai Khan makes me wonder why he plays a side actor a lot considering his stellar acting to portray a powerful, ambitious, cruel, and kind emperor. What really made me wonder was how Benedict Wong managed to portray Kublai Khan not just as a 'King' but as ' a presence'. He managed to capture the essence of Kublai Khan and shows his might, even when there is other stuff happening in the series from a romance subplot to planning a coup, we always have this 'presence' at the back of our mind that keeps saying 'the emperor is still here ... these guys are done of Kublai Khan knows to abut their plan'. From his mannerism and to the way of speaking, Benedict Wong has nailed it, With that, we need to see more of him as the main character on the big screen. Staggering Female Cast & Feminism : I wanted to include this in the section above, but there is so much to cover with this astonishing cast that I just could not include them as a subparagraph. 'To summarise Marco Polo's Horse won't ride without the females in the series. This is one of the pictures, that gives importance to female characters over the male cast and the story progresses due to women involved. Essentially the whole series is a game of chess and all the pieces are females. The women are the chess pieces and they are the ones who are moving the pieces of the game, The queens, princesses, spies all the women involved made moves that collectively led to the destruction of a Kingdom, the emperor, prince, and Marco Polo himself were just pawns of their game. The series initially cast an illusion that Kublai Khan is the greatest emperor on earth and he is portrayed that way to other countries, however, he makes decisions based on the incidents happening due to the female cast and it was the same way for the Chinese Judiciary (Chin Han). The characters that stood out to me were Kokachin played by Zhu Zhu (Pacific Rim Uprising, Confetti), a spy that tumbled a kingdom - Mei Lin played by Olivia Cheng, The Mongolian Queen played by Joan Chen (The Last Emperor) and the secret princess Khutulun played by Claudia Kim (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Fantastic Beasts). Zhu Zhu has portrayed a strong warrior amongst a time period where young girls were sent to brothel rather than train or educate themselves. Although she becomes a soldier due to privilege from her General of a Father, she makes sure she portrays the other end of the spectrum. To elaborate, women were suppressed during that era (and still are.) and her character shows women can be when given freedom and when her freedom comes from her father it shows a sad truth that women's freedom came from men. But aside from that she literally governs a battalion and wrestles men, all of her actions break stereotypical views of women during the Mongolian era (and even now). Mei Lin, a spy whose mission is to assassinate Kublai Khan with her daughter's life at stake portrays another part of the female spectrum - motherhood and furthermore, when the Mongolian Empress comes to know about her daughter, she spares the spy who came to topple the Mongolian Kingdom and kill her husband... why? that is only something women can do. Joan Chen and Olivia Cheng has both portrayed the burden they carry while also carrying their character with elegance as both of them are royalty. The Million Dollar Loss: Despite having all of these things going on for this series, what happened to this immaculate series that caused severe loss to Netflix? Lets see... Unnecessary Lavishness: When Netflix was making this, they wanted it to be their own version of 'Game of Thrones, and they just pulled all these A-Listers, Oscar tier technicians. Furthermore, any period piece requires expensive production value, but Marco Polo needed this lavishness for its story. But this backfired as the cost was more than the income, causing the show to get canceled in 2 seasons The Rawness Factor : When a period piece is made, it normally has a couple of scenes that are used to explore the time period, normally it involves running around the street or interacting with the environment, in this series they just show a slum and that's it, they show Marco Polo riding in a dessert and that's it, the incoherence in the landscape makes it hard for us to into this world. As an example, in Spielberg's Ready Player One we got to dive into the world due to traveling between terrains in the VR world. This incoherence in the Mongolian empire terrain, palace, and the seas, makes it hard for us to really follow through with the story . Making the region and timeless raw and unoriginal. Lack of Appeal : Game of Thrones was a fantasy series, so it appealed to a younger audience and the story compelled even mature audiences to watch it. The fiction was also well handled that it didn't seem too illogical. But since concepts like Dragons weren't in Marco Polo it was really hard to capture the attention of the audience who had a lot more to choose from on Netflix. The story was also a period piece and period pieces are considered 'boring'. Therefore small audience and an enormous budget caused less income. The Shawshank Redemption of Netflix : In summary, there was nothing wrong with the series itself, but just the process to make it was larger than what the series offered. But a series that involved so much research and work definitely deserved more than what it received, so this series has become similar to some of those really good movies that don't gain attention but years or decades later it will be recognized and appreciated. Therefore I believe similar to Shawshank redemption, which was barely noticed upon release but then was raved by critics and now ranks number 1 in IMDb, so one day Marco Polo will receive similar recognition and will become the Shawshank Redemption of Netflix. By @the_th3rdeye

Reviews by: @beyondfandom1 Jt here to bring you my review of the second issue of "The United States of Captain America". Just like the first issue we have two stories in this book, "I See Great Things In Baseball" written by Christopher Cantwell and "Hometown Hero" written by Mohale Mashigo. Let me start off by sayin that we are two books into this series and it's starting to become one of my favorites! In issue #1 we meet Arron Fischer who told Steve Rodgers and Sam Wilson that there were more "Captains" and he wasn't lying! In this issue we get to meet Nichelle Wright who is a boss in this entire book! From helping her town to being broken out of jail by Steve and Sam, Nichelle is awesome. She is a bold, do it herself kind of person but also has a big heart and just like Arron, she wants to do good. She is a former gymnast which I truly believe could be a bonus when it comes to fighting crime but that's just me. I really like how so far issues #1 and #2 have given us background stories of these new characters and at the end of this issue, it connects the two and I love that! Two things I absolutely loved in this book were Sam's new suite and Steve's new shield because they both made me say "Wow" out loud. This issue really furthers the story with the two mystery figures who get revealed at the end, but it's a great reveal! The action was better in this one but that pacing again had it lulls but I know once the series is over, I'll be rereading these books! Issue #2 of "The United States of Captain America" is just a further example that the meaning behind the shield means more then what people realize. Doing the good and right thing goes a long way! This issue gets a 4.5/5! By @beyondfandom1

Reviews by: @ryan_the_nixon Fear Street Part 3: 1666 2021 18 Director: Leigh Janiak Starring: Kiana Madeira, Ashley Zukerman, Gillian Jacobs, Olivia Scott Welch, Elizabeth Scopel, Benjamin Flores Jr, Randy Havens, Julia Rehwald, Matthew Zuk, Fred Hechinger, Michael Chandler, Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd etc Fear Street Part 3: 1666. The origins of Sarah Fier’s curse are finally revealed as history comes full circle on a night that changes the lives of Shadysiders forever. Wow what a way to end this fantastic trilogy. My first few positives would be the clever idea. Chemistry between the cast and great performances, as well as the great set locations and tense and uncomfortable tone. This film was very clever, having the final film be about the origins of the character was definitely the right decision for the final instalment, and having the actors from the previous two films portray the characters here was also a fun and creative idea, as well as a good challenge for the actors. I thought that the cast had fantastic chemistry here, just like with the previous two instalments the cast worked excellently. Particularly Kiana Madeira and Olivia Scott Welch, whose relationship was believable, well explored and gave Sarah Fier as a character a lot more depth and development. The performances from the whole cast were also excellent, Kiana Madeira really stepped up with her performance here, she delivered an intense and passionate performance for both roles she played and showed her versatility off well, the whole cast did great with other standouts being Gillian Jacobs, Keil Oakley Zepernick, McCabe Slye and Olivia Scott Welch. I also thought the set pieces were excellent, the film did an excellent job at bringing this particular setting and time period to life. With old farmhouses and wells for the locals. It very much felt specific to that time period, and it also set up a fairly creepy atmosphere for the film to play around with as well. This film also had an excellent tense and uncomfortable tone that was slowly built up well over the first act. This film did what I loved so much about the second film. It built up its tense and uncomfortable tone slowly as the film developed in order to create more atmosphere and impact. I loved how the first act was constructed, with things slowly going more and more wrong as more reveals about Sarah Fier were happening, they were both very cleverly connected, and it made the film’s tone have more of an impact. My next few positives would be the great cinematography. Character background and set up for Sarah, the strong themes expressed. As well as the rising of tension and use of gore. This film had excellent cinematography, what I really loved is that this film once again provided a slightly different horror tone compared to the other 2. With the use of low-key lighting and shadows, the cinematography was more targeted towards a supernatural tone which I really loved. There were some excellently crafted scenes, using the set locations and scenery to there full advantage. Next, I also loved the character background and set up for Sarah Fier, knowing how she lived her life and the already apprehensive and negative views towards her in the town, was a good way to establish her as a character as well as her relationships with the other characters, I also really liked the set up for her character. Having her be a gay character was an interesting element, due to the time period being in the 1600’s this was considered a sin, so this raised important themes whilst also balancing it out in a positive way with more intimate moments between Sarah and Hannah Miller (Olivia Scott Welch), this increased the tension with the town and due to the strange events happening the links with witchcraft were set up well. I also liked the use of gore and rising of tension. As the reveal and set up for the town’s hatred increased the tension slowly built, the film turned into a massive manhunt for Sarah, and due to the background and new connections made with her character, it made the film very intense to watch as you realised what truly happened to her character, I also like the use of gore it had impactful due it not being overused. With the barn scene leaving a particularly big impact. My next few positives would be the sound design, character designs. Development to the plot, great Jumpscares. As well as the building of mystery and the plot twists. I thought the film used sound excellently in order to build tension and to create a scary atmosphere. The film often used jarring sound, or effective uses of fast tapping especially within the church scene that really increased the tension of the film well, I also like that the film also focused on scenes for longer with little or no sound designs which helped to build the same effect, as well as well-timed and startling Jumpscares that weren’t overused. I also like the creative killer designs, just like with the previous two entries the film introduced multiple new killers. All of them were creative, detailed, and disturbing. My favourite had to be the town’s priest, despite it only being a short scene it had the most impact. With his hook for a hand and raking the town’s children eyes out was particular gruesome and very effective scene. I also loved the development to the plot and how It was structured, I think the film developed Sarah and her character excellently, filling in the audience into what truly happened. With all of the events explained in the previous two entries finally being explained in an intense second act, and I loved that it ended back in the present day in a full circle. I also loved how the film built its mystery, as the film slowly revealed what truly happened to Sarah Fier, I found it a great twist to find out she was innocent, and the film did a good job at building its mystery of who the true killer was and the events that have been taken place very well, it took the franchise in a strong and unexpected different direction. This led to the plot twist being excellently executed, it was well written, unexpected, and set up the final act very well. Tying all the loose ends very well and having Nick Goode as the true villain was an interesting and great twist as we learned about his descendants. This just really made the worldbuilding of this film really strong, it managed to balance tying up the loose ends and explaining the plot holes whilst also building on its own world and the different killers and characters within it excellently. I only had a few nit-picks with the film. There were some dodgy Irish accents, I would have liked more background into Sarah and her relationship with her family, and there was some annoying exposition. As someone who is part Irish, I can safely say that there were slightly poor and off-putting attempts at Irish accents from certain actors. It was slightly forced, and they slipped into their normal accents on a few occasions, it was only a small issue for me but something I still noticed. I would have also liked a little bit more background and development into how Sarah lives her life and her relationship with her brother and father, this would have helped the connection to her character be that little bit stronger. Finally, there was a couple of instances where unnecessary exposition was used. The film had already visually explained the twists to the plot and it was clear when watching what had happened, so when the characters went on to explain everything that the audience already knows it was just slightly irritating and something g I don’t like within films. My final few positives would be the clever final third. The excellent final act, the rising of stakes and the satisfying character arcs. I thought when the film did fear street 1994: part 2 it was a fun and clever twist and set up the final act excellently. The final act was fun, entertaining, and intense, raising the stakes for the characters excellently, I genuinely cared about what happened to the characters, so the film did its job. It ended in a satisfying way where all the characters arcs were complete, and you really felt like the characters had made piece and were happy which was nice to see. Plus, the little end tease made me want more! Overall, Fear Street Part 3:1666 is a clever, intense, and fun final outing for this fantastic trilogy. It was well written and tied everything up perfectly, and for me was the strongest of the trilogy. I want more! Overall score 96/100 By @ryan_the_nixon

Reviews by: @ryan_the_nixon What an EP. It’s fun and energetic and offers the same carefree attitude as Darren himself. With the synth pop and disco vibes that are perfect for the summer, the sound is consistent throughout the EP and there isn't one bad song. The one criticism would perhaps be to have a bit more diversity to the sound. But that doesn't stop this from being cohesive and every song has a consistently catchy chorus. Often reminding me of the 1975, Darren Surprised me with his strong voice that works perfectly with the production. The Ep is themed around the title of the EP which is always a fun concept, and focuses on letting go and not taking yourself too seriously, which I think goes against a lot of stereotypes, Darren offers something fresh and he has come a long way from his days in Glee. 9/10 My favourite songs: For a night like this I can't dance Let's Fuckin around Walk of shame Overall, Darren Criss delivers with a carefree and vibrant EP. With great messages and catchy hooks that get stuck in your head. His music has been a pleasant surprise for me and he has come a long way. It will be nice to see him play with different sounds in the future, but I appreciated this album for it's cohesiveness. Overall rating: 9/10. By @ryan_the_nixon

Reviews by: _pilots_on_the_ground_ Counter Strike Global Offense, commonly known as CSGO or just CS and or cancer strike either or. A FPS based in reality by doing the classic counter terrorists vs muli- I mean terrorists. It’s a fast pace (usually) 5v5 focused on, ready for this curveball, stopping the counter terrorists. A team of 5 buy weapons to eliminate the opposing team, the weapons vary between teams. Other than pew pew’ing the other team, the goal of the terrorists is planting and making a C4 go explosion noises. Whether the counter terrorists, your never gonna believe this shit, defuse the bomb. Shocker, right? Now… the fanbase. I said in my rainbow review that “Imagine a room of vegan lesbian feminists and straight man in Chernobyl.” Now that is toxic, however, CSGO has an equal, possibly worse fanbase. The difference between the two, is CS has an insane amount of raging Russians, hackers, and raging Russian hackers. I’m not being racist there are an overwhelming amount. It’s the best though the have the worst mic and making them angrier just makes your night bet just that little bit better. Its gameplay is very similar with no unique characters. Despite this, their games don’t often feel the same and each instance of playing seems different. The real uniqueness is in the weapons. No they aren’t like plasma guns; nor a very large variety (it does have a variety of guns but not absolutely massive). Their recoil is their uniqueness. You have to learn that where the is looks like is aimed, is 5cms away from where it actually shoots – that’s about half a hotdog for those who use the imperial system. The guns don’t even move to where the bullets shoot its just like above the gun. This is all part of the charm though. In conclusion, I always have more to say, and this is no difference. I didn’t even get in to the crippling gambling addiction you can get from it. I won’t mention names, @sammy__innit, but the addiction can warrant way too many hours on the game. By @_pilots_on_the_ground_

Reviews by: @somuchlovecinema @giryy_films This Film For Me Was Like A Breath Of Fresh Air As I Spent Watching Many Pointless Horror Films Which Meant Nothing To Me. The Witch - A New England Folktale, commonly known as The VVitch, is a 2015 Historical Supernatural Gothic Horror Drama Written and Directed by Robert Eggers. The film stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie and is set in 17th centurn England, where a Puritan family is banished from their colony, and the story goes on as they face the most evil and nightmarish conflicts of their lives. Okay let me make this perfectly clear. The fact that it has that low of an IMDB score and mixed reviews just because they "didn't understand it" is just so goddamn stupid. You know there are horror films that scare us with jumpscares, some horror films make us sad with the story, some doesn't have horror elements but are still scary. But this one is different. It's intense. It's artistic. It's disturbing. It's that kind of horror that makes us feel weird for a long and I mean very long time. The film has way too complicated narration and plot, but it succeeds in accomplishing it flawlessly... Thanks to Eggers. The best part of the film is how the relationships in between the family are written... but I'm not gonna talk about it cause I might give spoilers. It's still gives me chills when I think about some situations in the film. With an imaginative writing and directing consisting of a large potential... this is one of the most aggressively toxic films of the 21st century.. yet sublimely made. Guys this is indeed a horror film but it's more of a phenomenal filmmaking. And of course I gave it a five-star rating which means I liked it and you should check it out right.... By @somuchlovecinema The Witch o La Bruja es una película escrita y dirigida por Robert Eggers, protagonizada por Anya Taylor-Joy, con un presupuesto de 4 millones de dólares. ▶️ En México se encuentra en Netflix La pelicula trata una familia compuesta por un matrimonio de colonos cristianos, padres de cinco hijos, viven cerca de un bosque. La convivencia estalla y la familia se desgarra al sospechar que su hija mayor practica la brujería, debido a que las cosechas no crecen y su bebé ha desaparecido. Robert Eggers es el director que actualmente más me interesa ver como va progresando su filmografia en el futuro, ya que aparte de hacer películas de terror con tintes de fantasía, es un director que se nota que estudia la época en la que se desarrollan sus historias, por cosas como la manera de hablar de los personajes. La cinematográfia y la música le dan a la película esta increíble ambientación llena de misterio, donde no puedes estar seguro de lo que realmente esta pasando, las actuaciones son fantásticas, sobretodo quiero destacar a Ralph Ineson que hace un esplendido trabajo. Además la película da para mucho que pensar, y es una critica a los religiosos extremistas y a sus vivencias. Mi único problema con la película son los niños que actúan de los gemelos que llegan a ser un poco irritantes, pero por lo demás me pareció excelente y la recomiendo como una forma de adentrarse al cine de terror independiente. By @giryy_films

Reviews by: @purgatoryflicks Genre : War, Drama In a monster-infested world, Joel (Dylan O’Brien) learns his girlfriend is just 85 miles away. To make the dangerous journey, Joel discovers his inner hero to be with the girl of his dreams. Every once in a while, a film is released that feels like a video game adaptation, but isn’t. Love and Monsters is one of those films. Enter to a colorful post-apocalyptic world filled with dope monsters more than willing to devour you as a bedtime snack. Joel is living in a survivors colony in an underground bunker, a charming young fella no doubt but terrible in surviving in these harsh conditions. After 7 years in solitary living with all these happy couples, he decides just to say F it and head on an extremely dangerous quest to reunite with his girlfriend from before the whole apocalypse thing. In the name of love! Hence, the title which isn’t the most imaginative but for some reason it, and the oh so cool poster sold the movie for me. Even so, i fully expected not to like it, but turns out it’s one of the most fun popcorn/feelgood flicks of last year? Even with it’s well earned PG-13 rating. I thought Love and Monsters was so wholesome! I don’t think all post-apocalyptic films necessarily have to be all bleak and gloomy, and i appreciated what this film brought to the table. It’s a refreshing addition to the genre reminiscent of films like Zombieland or Warm Bodies. By no means it’s a film you have to be entirely focused att all times or expect something deep or thought-provoking to happen but what Love and Monsters tries to do, it succeeds with ease. It’s full of happiness, vibrant/bright colors and some truly creative world building. Dug the monster design aswell, very much so. They didn’t come across as really scary but for the most part: adorable. Dylan O’Brien is just the right choice for the lead role. His mannerisms and the whole shenanigans of his character appears so natural. The relationship between him and a dog he found is easily one of the most charming aspects of this film. Features also memorable appearances from Michael ’IT’S MARY POPPINS Y’ALL’ Rooker and youngster Ariana Greenblatt. I’m fully aware that the film is far from perfect. The story is a bit cheesy and cliché and it surely isn’t the most unpredictable films of recent times. Plotholes? Sure. Did these elements stop me from enjoying the hell out of Love And Monsters? Absolutely not. Four stars because i had so much fun. 4/5 By @purgatoryflicks

Reviews by: @beyondfandom1 Now this What If was really interesting but also make you second guess how smart some of these villains are. Written by Don Gut and art work by Jim Mooney, we're back with another What If comic review! Let's review "What If the World Knew That Daredevil Is Blind?" In one universe, Matt Murdock is a lawyer by day and the superhero Daredevil by night. Two separate and completely different lives that have only one similarity, Matt Murdock is blind. Now, us as the readers already knew this, but somehow Daredevil keeps that a secret while he's fighting crime in New York City. I will say that people in NYC know Matt Murdock and see his face and they know he's blind, but Daredevil wears a mask and goes out in the dark so not a lot of people really "see" him as this superhero. This book starts off like any other issue where an enemy attacks and Daredevil is there to help save the day...by himself (that's important). However, in this alternate world the same events happen but the Amazing Spider-Man is there to help! Let me set the scene for you real quick in reality one; the villain Electro is doing some bad things, Daredevil steps in and beats him, the end. Now, in reality two the same events happen but Electro throws a flashbang type attack at Daredevil and Spider-Man and realizes that the only way Daredevil could keep moving with such agility and Spider-Man is down is because the flashbang wouldn't work on someone who was blind. The two heroes eventually take down Electro but not before Electro calls out Daredevil for being blind in which Spider-Man thinks is false so he laughs it off but Daredevil confirms Electros statement. Now you are officially up to speed on how the world knows that Daredevil is blind. I found this interesting because most villains throw some kind of bomb or something to catch their enemies off guard but why wouldn't they throw something like a flashbang to immobilize whoever heir fighting. MAYBE this was just luck that Electro had and if it was luck, he should hit up some slot machines. The story actually continues because now that the world knows, so do villains who want to step up and come out of the shadows, which is exactly what The Owl does. I've typed a lot and you've read a lot so I will make the rest of the story as quick as I can, here we go. The Owl sets up a machine that hurts Daredevil's other senses. They try to rob Matt's office where Karen Page is at (that's Matt's girlfriend). Daredevil saves the day and Karen finds out Matt's secret. Weeks past and Karen keeps telling Matt about this doctor who can cure his blindness and Matt accepts the appointment. Matt and Karen fly to see this doctor and the procedure is complete and as Matt is waking up, The Owl attacks. In a crazy scenario, Daredevil saves everyone and the doctor know knows Matt's secret. Matt thinks the procedure didn't work because he was still blind but eventually he is able to see and retires as Daredevil. I must add that the procedure also took away Matt's super keen senses, so in other words Matt is now a regular human being. Wow...that was a lot but like I mentioned earlier, very interesting. The story does stay suspenseful but there is some lags and slower parts in it. Ever since I found out about the Daredevil character, I always wondered why he never tried to fix his blindness, and now I know! Overall, I think his issue was more interesting and had more at stake but it's still good. "What If the World Knew Daredevil Is Blind?" gets a 3/5! By @beyondfandom1

Reviews by: reviews_by_morg PLOT: In 2019, Ichiban Kasuga, a former member of the Tojo Clan's Arakawa Family, is released after eighteen years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. Expecting to be welcomed back, he instead discovers that his former patriarch has aligned himself and his family with the Omi Alliance and the police to destroy the Tojo Clan. Shot and left for dead in Yokohama by the man he looked up to as a second father, Kasuga, joined by a group including a homeless nurse, a disgraced cop, and a hostess who lost her employer to gang violence, sets out to uncover the truth behind his patriarch's betrayal while becoming a hero to the outcasts of Yokohama. MY STATS: Time Played: 62 Hours Substories Completed: 38/52 Sujidex Entries: 230/252 Management Rank: Rank 1 Can Collector Rank: King Of Cans Pound Mates Collected: 16/19 Bond Levels Maxed: 3/6 STORY: One of the best things about the story of Like A Dragon, is how accessible it is. I personally have played all 7 of the other main entries into this franchise, so it doesn't mean much for me, but going through the story, I realized how perfect of a game it is for people just now discovering the franchise. That aside though, the story of Like A Dragon is one that you'll soon find yourself incredibly invested in, and one that I didn't find predictable in the slightest. It also has nice discreet callbacks to the other games for those who have actually played them, but as I said, it doesn't require any prior knowledge of the franchise to actually do so. Each individual chapter has a moment which is undeniably memorable, with chapter 12 really kicking things into gear for the last few chapters of the game. Just looking at the story alone this games easily one of the best I've ever played, but there are many other areas to look at aside from the story... CHARACTERS: Ichiban Kasuga is an instantly endearing character that you'll love to learn more about over the course of this game, and the same goes for pretty much every other playable character (excluding Eri). Kasuga himself has managed to become tied for my favourite character in the series in just one game, which is crazy, and then characters like Koichi Adachi and Joon-Gi Han have also shocked me in how much I like them. Aside from the playable characters, I really like some of the supporting characters, and I found the antagonists to be really great. CHARACTER STATS: Ichiban Kasuga: Level 63 - Job: Hero (32) Koichi Adachi: Level 63 - Job: Breaker (32) Joon-Gi Han: Level 63 - Job: Hitman (32) Saeko Mukoda: Level 63 - Job: Night Queen (32) Nanba: Level 59 - Job: Homeless Guy (29) Tianyou Zhao: Level 55 - Job: Gangster (27) Eri Kamataki: Level 63 - Job: Clerk (32) COMBAT: My biggest worry going into Like A Dragon was the combat system, as this is the first game in the franchise to feature turn-based combat. Even though this did initially make it quite hard for me to get in the flow of the game, once I had finally gotten used to it, I grew to love it more and more, especially as it became more fleshed out with the different jobs. I'm still not sure if I necessarily prefer it to the combat of the other games, but it was definitely the right move for this game; not only does it perfectly compliment the personality of Kasuga, but it also makes the franchise feel new and fresh, which is definitely welcome. SIDE CONTENT: The side content in Like A Dragon is incredibly plentiful. Whilst I've mostly neglected side content in past entries, this time I fully went into as much as I could, and there's still a solid amount that I missed out. The only side content returning from the other games (excluding a majority of the minigames such as mahjong and golf) is substories, and as they always have been, they're incredibly memorable. There's them the can collecting and dragon kart side content for those of you who like some sort of driving; whilst I didn't go very in depth into dragon kart, i can confirm that it seems a lot of fun, and whilst can collecting can become a bit monotonous, it's fun rising the ranks. Speaking of monotonous, the management minigame features gameplay which is just that! Jokes aside, it's kinda fun micro-managing your own business, but it becomes a bit boring after a short while; luckily enough though, you'll be earning too much to really care! There is so much more side content which I can't even begin to go into because there's simply that much, from numerous card games to being a part time hero, this game has something for everyone.. My personal favourite piece of side content is karaoke, which brings me to my next point... SOUNDTRACK: Karaoke has always been one of my favourite aspects of these games, and even though I'm not as head over heels for it in this installment as I was in the others, it still features some great songs in its karaoke catalogue. Aside from karaoke though, the game also features many phenomenal tracks during battles which are impossible to forget. So even if this installment doesn't have any karaoke songs that I'm super crazy about, it does at least succeed in giving me fantastic tracks which I'll love to listen to. Oh, the song that plays over the credits is amazing too, and I've been listening to it on repeat the entire time I've been making this post/review. VISUALS: The Yakuza franchise as a whole has always supplied me with visually impressive games, and Like A Dragon isn't any different. The game looks consistently phenomenal, and aspects such as the summons only allow these visuals to flourish further. I do somewhat feel that I'm no longer that impressed ny how these games look, and in turn, how this game looks, but the fact that I've gotten so used to the high quality visuals that it doesn't phase me any more is an impressive achievement in of itself. CONCLUSION: Even though I was already pretty sure that the Yakuza franchise was my favourite video game franchise, this game has absolutely cemented that, along with skyrocketing to the top of my ranking of the main series of Yakuza games. It's undoubtedly a game that I would recommend, to new fans and old fans of the series alike, and I'm incredibly excited to see where the series will go from this point forth. OVERALL - 10/10 By @reviews_by_morg

Reviews by: @the_cinema_believer Genre : War, Drama PG Rating : PG - 13 Directed By : Vishnuvardhan Cast : Siddharth Mhalotra, Kiara Advani, Shiv Panditt, Sahil Vaid, Nikitin Dheer IMDb Rating : ⭐8.8/10 Rotten Tomatoes : 84% Our Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Available on : Amazon Prime Positives 1. VFX and Visuals 2. Acting Department 3. Writing and Emotions 4. Action & War Sequences Negatives 1. Unnecessary Song Thoughts : India fought really limited but really great battle and each battle have its unique story on each battle front with its own challenge, and Bollywood also had made lots of War Drama movies even also on the most of its & each movie has its own different takes toward showing the war. So it's not a first time where movie is made on the 'Kargil War' bollywood also had adopted the story of Kargil War' on different fronts So 2021's War Drama movie 'Shershaah' is also one of them. But this movie is more of the Autobiography of the Captain Vikram Batra who was an officer of the Indian Army, posthumously awarded with the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest and most prestigious award for valour, for his actions during the 1999 Kargil War in Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Good Aspects : * All Actors did great job but 'Siddharth Mhalotra' did phenomenal job playing lead role. (One of his greatest of his career) The chemistry between the Siddharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani looks amazing. * Just like I said the VFX, War and Fighting Sequences are pretty good especially the opening scene of Kargil War, all Kashmir Scenes looks beautiful on screen. * Story stay close to reality and does not glorify any Charachter which is really great point to admire about the movie. Because most of the movies try to overhype or glorify the Charachter or scene. But the movie tries to stick with the reality and to keep things natural. * Another plus point about the movie is it's emotions and you can feel it in the climax. Also the BGM music fits perfectly to the scenes. * The story maintenance it's pace From the start to end. So because of that movie doesn't bore you except the love story part between Vikram Batra and Dimple. Bad Aspects : Which is the one and only drawback from this movie. Bollywood has the habit of showing love story in every movie, which will also get to see this movie, the songs of the movie slow downs story. Except the song showed it in the end of the film is perfect and necessary for the scene to add an emotion in the movie. but the rest of the songs didn't necessarily for the movie and can be skipped. Conclusion : So overall movie is really amazing and entertaining. You feel happy Proud and emotional after watching the movie, and Yes 'Shershaah' is one of the best real war drama depection movie made in India which everyone should watch. By @the_cinema_believer

Reviews by: @ryan_the_nixon What a disappointment. Her previous two albums were so strong, and this just doesn’t live up to the high expectations. There are definitely some songs that really work and show an excellent growth in her vocals and a maturity to her lyrics and those songs when they do work are really fun and She shows a lot more maturity and playfulness as an artist. But a lot of the songs are bland and forgettable, never really going anywhere with the lyrics, and the production is poor compared to her previous albums, just too underproduced and always teased going somewhere then just went back to being bland. This album will be liked by some, but I feel like Lorde has targeted a much more small and niche audience with this chilled and laid back style. but for me it is forgettable and really lacks the creative flare from her previous couple of albums, this album is filled with more skips than what I wanted. My favourite songs: Stoned at the nail salon Solar Power Mood ring Fallen Fruit The path California Secrets from a girl (Who's seen it all) The man with the axe leader of a new regime Oceanic Feeling Big Star Dominoes Overall Lorde offers hints of vocal and lyrical maturity, but this happens far too little in this bland and forgettable album that plays it too safe, and is unfortunately Lorde's weakest album and a step in the wrong direction for her as an artist. Overall rating: 5.5/10. By @ryan_the_nixon

Reviews by: @ryan_the_nixon Fear Street part 2: 1978 18 Director: Leigh Janiak Starring: Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, Ryan Simpkins, McCabe Slye, Gillian Jacobs, Matthew Zuk, Kiana Madeira, Benjamin Flores jr, Brandon Spink, Ted Sutherland etc Shadyside, 1978. School’s out for summer and the activities at camp Nightwing are about to begin. But when another Shadysider Is possessed with the urge to kill, the fun in the sun becomes a gruesome fight for survival. Wow what a fantastic film and definitely an improvement over the first instalment which I already loved. My first few positives would be the interesting opening and continuation of the plot. The great set up. The fantastic cinematography and sound design as well as the great younger actors. I found the opening to be really interesting, having it be a direct continuation of the first film was a clever idea, I was just expecting it to jump straight into 1978, but establishing the characters goals as well as introducing new characters and a very solid mystery and set up with the background of the Shadyside killers was great. It introduced the audience to the story of the two sisters in an intriguing way that got me invested straight away. I also found it really interesting to have the younger versions of the older characters within the film. It was a clever idea and it established what those characters were like before the first film, giving good character background and details to the characters that were missing from the first film and essential to the final instalment as well. I also thought the cinematography and sound design was excellent here. Having the setting of summer camp made for a very fun slasher experience, the film played with its surroundings and lighting extremely well for great effect, it knew exactly what kind of film it wanted to be with its disturbing imagery and well-crafted shots. The sound design was also excellent, this really built tension well, and is something this trilogy is doing excellently. Hearing the sharpening or slashing of the axe really created a tense atmosphere and also increased the tension with the characters. My next few positives would be the chemistry between the cast, the humour. The fantastic performances, as well as the character depth and explanation to conflict, giving you more time to connect with the characters. The cast here worked brilliantly with each other, they had much more of a believable and fun chemistry than the cast from the first film who were still great. Especially Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, and Ted Sutherland. I loved the sisterly bond that the film developed on excellently and the cast was equally as good as each other. I also thought that the humour was great. It wasn’t overused, but provided that much needed break off the tension and there was a lot of fun scenes involving the camp and the competition between them that were very funny and well executed. The performances here were brilliant, the whole cast did a fantastic job. But the key standouts from this cast were Ted Sutherland, Sadie Sink and Emily Rudd. Who all delivered excellent performances here. They delivered in the emotional and comedic scenes and they made you genuinely feel for and connect with there characters which is the biggest compliment you can give to a performance; they brought the passion and intensity required for this kind of genre. I really liked the character depth and explanation to the conflict to the main two characters. What I loved about this film that was an improvement over the first for me, was that they actually spent more time fleshing out and developing the main characters, I connected with them a lot more and instead of having unexplored conflict they explained it excellently and due to both the sisters troubled relationship with their parents and not being there for each other, it gave an extra needed layer to both of their characters, it just made me more invested in the story and the characters within it. My next few positives would be the fun elements to the film. The building of tension and tone. The excellent Jumpscares and worldbuilding. And the excellent slasher tone and gore. I loved that the film spent some time developing the summer camp and the fun activities involved within it, it just added a fresh and fun quality to it seeing the characters just have fun, and tonally it fitted in with the time period and the summer camp slashers that have been done so well beforehand. I also loved how the film built its tension and gore. It didn’t go all in with its slasher tones straight away like the first film, which I actually really appreciated. Instead, it took its time developing the characters and the fun tone. And slowly built its tension and more supernatural horror elements over the first half. This for me created more tension and an extra intensity to the film. The slasher tone and Jumpscares were also excellent. When the film started using its slasher tone to its full potential it went all out, turning the gore up to a 100 with some gruesome and realistic kills that were delightfully grim and the film went full on slasher which I truly appreciated, it felt like the film knew what kind of tone it wanted to be and it went all out which I loved. Finally, I also really appreciated the worldbuilding. Having the younger version of the characters really added to their characters in the present, and the film really built on the world of Sarah Feir and the killers excellently, both serving as an origin to the axe killer but also expanding on world that was so well set up from the first film. I did have a few slight nit-picks with the film, largely within the first half. There was some generic set up of conflict, overreliance on exposition and a generic set up. The first third of the film was slightly generic and had me slightly concerned. The setup of conflict for Ziggy was fairly bland, her character had the formulaic role of the outsider or the troubled kid and this wasn’t expanded on for a long time, so it just felt like forced teen drama, this was soon fixed but still was a noticeable issue. I also felt like there was some moments that the film relied too much on exposition to explain conflict with Ziggy and the other campers instead of showing it which irritated me slightly. I also thought the set up for Tommy becoming the axe killer was slightly generic and predictable, it was very much easily set out for the characters to make a certain decision not listen to the cautions and you have the main plot point. It could have just had a little bit more thought put into it. My final few positives would be the separate storylines, development to the plot, the rising of stakes. Fantastic final act and great unexpected twist at the end. I really loved the separate storylines developed for Ziggy and Cindy. It gave room for the film to grow its characters, expand the mythology and to increase the tension and stakes. Cindy developed a lot more as her character with the help of Alice (Ryan Simpkins) who did a fantastic job here. There was a lot of personal scenes between them both which was a great turning point for her character. It provided great development to the plot, as the stakes of the characters relationships as well as how many people were being killed slowly increased as we learned more about how to stop the curse. I also thought the final act was fantastic. The film increased the tension and the stakes and really pushed the characters to their limit, in an intense, gripping, and clever final act that had a surprising twist ending. Going back to the 90’s setting of the first film and learning that it was Ziggy that was alive instead of her sister was an excellently executed twist, and what the characters learned about connecting Sarah Feir’s hand with her body was a clever and fun set up for the final instalment. Overall, Fear Street part 2: 1978 improves on its predecessor. With an intense, gory, and impactful second instalment. That focuses on its characters much more clearly, and with a stronger cast. A few generic moments within the first third aside, this was excellent and has made me extremely excited for the final film. Overall rating 94/100 By @ryan_the_nixon

Reviews by: @art_fanatic_313 Most of the prisoners that lived in the prison before the group of survivors arrived want to throw them out, but while they are doing that a zombie attack happens and Rick finds the opportunity to kill the main guy, without the others noticing that he did it. So after that they are very easily able to make the others give up, so they can stay there. After the zombie attack ends and new characters comes. Her name is Michonne and she had been surviving alone outside for way more than any other character. Soon after, while cleaning a section of the prison from zombies, a member of the group gets bitten in the leg, so Rick decides to cut it to save him, but he still loses a lot of blood and passes away after a few days. Also, Michonne’s arrival complicates things, because she sleeps with Tyreese. This was a very interesting chapter. Rick is kinda loosing his mind because of the responsibilities and all the death. Also, people are accusing him of having a blood-lust and while he denies it, it’s not certain that it’s not true. Furthermore, at some point he gets in a huge fight with Tyreese, which is truly very well written and absolutely captivating. There’s a lot of action in this chapter and it’s all very well written and interesting. There are also many thought provoking fights and debates. I really love how this series doesn’t just focus on the action and takes the time to look at its repercussions and the way fights and death changes the characters There’s really great character development from the beginning of the series. The changes in the characters’ personalities happens very organically and it makes complete sense. I don’t know if the artwork is really evolving, but I definitely enjoy it way more than I did in the second chapter. In this chapter there are some very cool and well drawn splash pages, in which the artwork is very good. The artists are really talented and really know how to draw very expressive faces and fight scenes. Overall, this was great chapter. While some characters died and many tragic things happened, it still wasn’t as depressing and devastating as the previous one. 10/10 By @art_fanatic_313

Reviews by: @cinemaa.wiz Lemme keep it short and straight forward this movie really works because of Director's Ambition and Actors giving the movie their fullest. The long takes aren't new to Malayalam Cinema, be it the one in Angamaly Diaries or the one in Jallikattu, every long take I've seen from this industry is in some way brilliant and here in Malik the Long Take actually sucks you right in from the start. Acting performances were all brilliant, Nimisha Sajayan as Roseline is great especially in her later age, she embodies the rough look while the one Stands out would be Joju George, this is like the first time I am seeing him in a major role and Joju actually shows you how talented he is. Now Fahadh Effin Faasil, the guy rules, Fahadh gets into the soul of character or the Character actually goes in his soul, I don't know but whatever happens results in this Brilliance and sheer Epicness. Now the Negatives... There are a few of those too. Number one would be the way they give out flashbacks..... They narrate it making it seem like its several perspectives but at the end they come out as mere Flashbacks rather than giving any kind of fleshed out Perspective. Number two would be CGI, it seems fake at points. Overall Mahesh Narayanan creates a really good saga that feels important and is a Cinematic Masterpiece that deserves to be seen by every Cinema Fan. Mahesh surely knew how to connect a Goon with the audience along with giving him a Godfather status infront of the people that doesn't effect judgement of the Audience. 8.5/10 THE LEGEND OF FAHADH FAASIL Fahadh Faasil is one of the best actor working today and one of the best indian actor of all time. Its so great to see him perform, its like the actor disappears and we can only see the character on screen, and every character he's portrayed til now is different and he has nailed each and every character he has played. This year itself, 3 of Faasil's movies released and in all of them he had a different role and no matter how the movie was he nailed all three of them. His upcoming movies include Pushpa (He is rumored to be the main villain of second part tho he'll make appearance towards the end of first). And Legend Kamal Haasan's Vikram (That stars Sethupati as well, hell of a treat). And I can say I contributed in Revival of Cinema, as I watched all three Faasil movies Legally. THE LONG TAKE We've seen so many Long Takes throughout cinema's history so what makes the long take in Malik compelling? Its quite simple actually, there's a reason the long take works and sucks you right into the movie. The long take tells you about the aura of character, it tells you the power of Ali Ikka, it gives you a rough tour around the fascinating world you are going to witness ahead... It introduces you to most of the main characters and it sets you right in the mood the movie will head into. All these factors combined help the long take connect with the audience. The Long take actually proves to be much more than just a Cinematic marvel but it also helps elevate the storytelling. By @cinemaa.wiz

Reviews by: @the_owlseyes “In politics as in philosophy, my tenets are few and simple. The leading one of which, and indeed that which embraces most others, is to be honest and just ourselves and to exact it from others, meddling as little as possible in their affairs where our own are not involved. If this maxim was generally adopted, wars would cease and our swords would soon be converted into reap hooks and our harvests be more peaceful, abundant, and happy.” George Washingten Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Washington never said that, this is so fake. Bring up the real George Washington, with an o. "So we share an enemy. A cause. And I can see plainly that you share my testicular fortitude" George Washington PLOT "A chainsaw-wielding George Washington teams with beer-loving bro Sam Adams to take down the Brits in a tongue-in-cheek riff on the American Revolution" or "This is America b***h". SCRIPT Well, it isn't simple to say if it's inherently bad or particularly good. It's a script which is made of satirical and parodical jokes about U.S. and its history and politics. I can't talk about character development or overarching themes because there aren't any of those. It's just a movie made of mindless jokes intended to poke fun to a country which takes itself too seriously and doesn't understand that it isn't superior to the rest of the world.The movie isn't only about nosense and bantering, but it's also about celebrating some aspects of the American Culture. I think that this is a mixed script with a good premise but a poor execution. Script: 6/10 ACTING This is one of the best thing about it. There're a lot of talented actors and I think that all of them fit their characters perfectly. Jason Mantzoukas is the best out of all the talents who were casted in this movie. I also think that Andy Samberg and Simon Pegg do a remarkable job in giving a threatning and comedic voice to the villains. Channing Tatum surprised me because I've never seen him in a voice acting role. Acting: 7/10 PHOTOGRAPHY I like how colourful it is but colours aren't used in a meaningful or symbolic way and light is usually flat and shadows don't have a place in this movie. I'm disappointed, because the animation is pretty good and more could've been done with it. Photography: 5/10 EDITING It's pretty basic and I don't find it interesting. The movie doesn't use particular techniques to make it more dinamic or so. It's pretty stale and tedious in my opinion. Editing: 5/10 SPECIAL EFFECTS I consider that the best aspect of this movie, because the animation is beautiful. It's like Archer, but it experiments a lot and every design, of characters, objects and landscapes, is interesting. CGI is used lightly and it isn't invasive. Special Effects: 7/10 SOUNDTRACK A lot of iconic pop songs and soundtracks are showcased here, mostly at random and for a comedic purpose. You would think that this are just there as background noise but in the climax they evolve into something else. We have a tribute to MTV and a direct mockery of the U.S. National Anthem. I have said enough because it's easy to spoil a movie like that. Overall I think that it's genius and dumb at the same time how the movie manages the soundtrack. Soundtrack: 6/10 COSTUMES They're all over the place but they hint to different aspects of American Culture, like Baseball, Frat Boys and Girls, The Statue of Liberty and more. Even though most of the time costumes doesn't fit history, there's something historically fateful about them. It's like a mash-up of historical inaccuracy and accuracy, which is both delightful and boring sometimes. Costumes: 6/10 CONCLUSION Script: 6/10 Acting: 7/10 Photography: 5/10 Editing: 5/10 Special Effects: 7/10 Soundtrack: 6/10 Costumes: 6/10 AVERAGE: 6 A mediocre movie with a good premise but a weak execution stained by jokes of mixed quality and a not-so-subtle satiric and parodic tone. See it if you want to have mindless fun and see it with your friends to enjoy it more. Director: Matt Thompson Screenplay: Dave Callaham Cast: Channing Tatum, Jason Mantzoukas, Olivia Munn, Bobby Moynihan, Judy Greer, Will Forte, Raoul Max Trujillo, Killer Mike, Simon Pegg, Andy Samberg Soundtrack: Mark Mothersbaugh Running Time: 98 minutes By @the_owlseyes

Reviews by: @beyondfandom1 Today I will be reviewing and talking about "Ninjak #1" from Valiant Entertainment! Ninjak is written by Jeff Parker and art is done by Javier Pulido. Let me start off by saying I am very new to Valant Entertainment and I was told my a ton of people to read their books and here we are. Oh, and we just got put of their press release list, so huge shout out to Valiant Entertainment! Let's review! I would like to thank those people who told me to read Ninjak because WOW this book is something else! I felt that covert assassin vibe with it, but I also felt the rouge spy vibe as well. this book was all over the place and even though I didn't know anything about the character or the comic, I learned it all in this one issue. Part one of this run is called "Daylight" and we are figuring out the basic storyline of this book. We learn about Ninjak aka Colin King and how he is the worlds greatest superspy that is on his own missions now. King is a a coldblooded killer and this issue shows that as he goes around and just wrecks people! In just a few pages he wipes out a group of about 10 plus people and does it with ease. I actually found myself cheering him on and gravitating towards his story and him as a character. We learn along the way that a spy by the name of Myna who is tracking and Ninjak everywhere he goes, but of course he knows that. Ninjak and Myna worked "together" at MI-6 which ends up getting hacked and all of their spies get their true identity revealed! I have to say that was was wild! In different panels that take us to different locations, these now known spies get killed by people and it's just crazy! Myna gets revealed and is on the run but she stumbles and two dudes approach her to kill her until...Ninjak comes to the rescue! This scene was crazy because Ninjak kills one guy and tells Myna to kick the other as hard as she can in the nose to kill him and she does it. Myna and King are headed to London by train until the they crash and are greeted by what I can tell are monsters. Wow.. just typing that got me excited for issue #2! I am thrilled that I picked this book up in stores. However, my one complaint is, and maybe it's because I'm not used to this type of style, but the coloring throws me off a bit with some darker to lighter panels. I'm assuming that I'll get used to in future issues but from the start, it' a bit distracting. Overall, I really enjoyed it and the story is nota complex one which is nice. "Ninjak #1" gets a 4/5! By @beyondfandom1

Reviews by: @reviews_by_morg 10/10 Easily my favourite film of the Free Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, and I don't think that's every going to change. Set 20 years after an attempt at an epic pub crawl, the film sees five friends return to their home town with the intention on completing it. However, they are inadvertently burdened with the task of saving mankind. Everytime I rewatch this film I'm reminded of how often I actually reference it, even in just little ways, but beyond it being highly quotable, it's also genuinely hilarious, and it always has me laughing a ton, even if by this point I am able to recite all the lines that make me laugh! It's not just a great film on the surface though, as the more you watch this film the more you'll notice all of the subtle (and not so subtle) foreshadowing, which now that I've noticed it, is something I always love to see again every time I revisit it. I don't just think this is the best film of the trilogy because it's the one I've seen the most or anything like that, but because I think it's the funniest of them all, also holding the most heart (which I'll briefly talk about in a collab on @film_buff_42's account soon!). We're then also treated too brilliant performances from everyone involved, and I don't just mean the main cast of Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, and Paddy Considine, but also the likes of Rosamund Pike and Pierce Brosnan. Oh and Bill Nighy, who I always forget is in this film, just be pleasantly surprised by his voice! Overall, I genuinely love this film, and just as well as considering it to be my favourite film of the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, I also consider it to be one of my all time favourite comedies. I would undoubtedly recommend watching it, and I guess while I'm at it, the other two films in the trilogy two, as even if they don't quite reach the heights of this film for me, they're still both incredible! By @reviews_by_morg

Reviews by: @beyondfandom1 Yo yo yo what’s up guys, it’s ya boy Christian from East Coast Avengers (a little nod there to OpTic Scump)! Got another review here for ya, but this time it’s from the riveting world of Resident Evil Village! It is one of my favorite games at the moment and definitely my Game of the Year contender. For more context, I did play it on the Xbox Series X so I experienced all of its action survival glory at optimal console gaming. #humblebrag It all seriousness though, this a fantastic game to play if you haven’t yet. It picks up 3 years after the events of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. As you might recall, the Dulvey incident brought the mold to light and it is the latest problem the heroes of Resident Evil have to face. Ethan Winters, having thought that he escaped that nightmare and left it back at the Baker residence, now faces a grander, more sinister villain. There are some similarities between Village and its predecessor but what I really mean is all of the good aspects were kept by the developers that made 7 so good. I also saw an abundant of nods pulled from Resident Evil 4. It some cases, some gameplay mechanics were improved upon. Now before I dive deeper, I will warn readers that I will talking about spoilers from Biohazard and 4 but I will avoid all spoilers from Village. The most obvious gameplay mechanic was that they kept the first-person perspective for Village from when they introduced it in 7. I should mention that 7 was the first mainline Resident Evil to be in first-person. This was a pretty big gamble for Capcom given that every previous mainline entry was over-the-shoulder or fixed camera angle. I can safely say that it also worked really well for Village! The gunplay is solid but clumsy enough to keep you on your toes. The section of the game that worked best for it in my opinion was the last major section of the game when you went against the toughest enemies the village had to offer. Another mechanic that was brought back in full was a merchant! A dedicated merchant that sells you weapons, upgrades, and consumables is back in the form of The Duke: A mysterious, yet friendly ally of Ethan that brought me comfort every time I ran into him. Remember in 4 when you went fishing with a knife and then sold your spoils to the merchant for currency? You can do that in Village as well but it also expands on that! Not only are there more variety of animals to hunt, including the return of crows, but you can also combine different ingredients of animal meat to make dishes at the merchant that give you stat bonuses. This simple addition is one of many details that impressed me with this title. The setting and the lore of this game is what impressed me the most. I absolutely loved the Gothic European aesthetic of this game. Even weapons like the Wolfsbane revolver, the M1897 shotgun, and the GM 79 grenade launcher had baroque style gold engravings that I adored. Castle Dimitrescu was the most visually appealing part of the game and objectively the best. It has the easy, but engaging, puzzle solving and backtracking that is unique to Resident Evil and the setting brought back Salazar Castle vibes. The motion capture and voice acting were top tier to say the least. My personal favorite performances were Heisenberg and Lady Dimitrescu. However, the most time you’ll be spending with is Ethan, of course. As you the player and the protagonist muddle your confusion through this bizarre and interesting story, you realize that Ethan is a great vessel to experience it as. The writing has a bigger picture to the grand story while at the same time, can stand on its own merits. Oh, and that part *cries* I thoroughly enjoyed this game and it pairs beautifully with Biohazard. It took me 5 playthroughs to get every achievement and I loved every minute, even the knife only run. I highly recommend playing both back-to-back. Can’t wait to see what Capcom does next because Resident Evil Village gets a 9/10. By @beyondfandom1

Reviews by: @bearfilmreviews @augustkellerwrites I really didn't like this. It has so many things I just hate. PoA lost the musical magic a little bit for me but it is almost completely gone in this film. The music here is just generic action-y music. None of it says "Harry Potter" to me. There's maybe 1 theme I like but it only appears in this film and never again, so I have no emotional connection to it. The other schools' entrances are absolutely laughable, and terrible. Why are they both 1 gender schools? Why is 1 one of them this sexy french ballet school and the other a martial arts school with fucking war drums? Why is there a shot of the french girls' asses while running with Ron saying "bloody hell"? It is awful. Victor Krum is a fucking paedophile. Ron even says at one point to Hermione "he's way too old" and she responds "is that what you think?" Yes Hermione, he is way too old. He is a paedophile. You are 14, he is 18. He even has a noncey beard. Mad-Eye Moody being secretly Barty Crouch Jr. is the dumbest fucking thing. I really like how Moody acts when teaching, he's a really great character, so fun, so unhinged, but seems like he wants the best for his students. But no, that was just some fucking Death Eater, so by the next film, when the real Moody is interacting with everyone, I don't care. Because I don't fucking know him. I know David Tennant pretending to be him. And when "Moody" at the end says things like "Hagrid wouldn't have shown you the dragons unless I told him to" and "Neville wouldn't have helped you with the water task" it makes no sense. They both would have wanted to help anyway. It's a shit twist, J.K. Rowling. The story would be better without the twist, you cunt. Ron hating Harry for ages makes no sense as well. It's so tedious and annoying because it just doesn't make any sense. He tells Harry to piss off at one point too. Have Harry become good friends with Cedric and that's the reason Ron dislikes him. A conflict that now makes sense. By @bearfilmreviews Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire isn't the highest craft in this series, but is a turning point. Here, the Potterverse takes its final form: shedding its clean family atmosphere and stepping into young adult fiction. Goblet of Fire is the first Potter movie rated PG-13, to fully embrace its racism metaphors, and to adopt a filmmaking style into its framework. Prisoner of Azkaban was more artistic, but Goblet of Fire absorbed that artistry into the Potterverse structure. Thus, the first two Potter films are slightly corny kids' movies, the third is the surprisingly artistic one, and the rest balance craft with mass appeal. First, dark color tones and creepy production designs carry over from Prisoner of Azkaban, joining the cast and soundtrack as Potterverse staples. Goblet of Fire then sets its balance by accenting epic set pieces with filmmaking. For example, the visuals are less dynamic because the focus is on action rather than composition, yet skewed angled shots are thrown in at critical moments to drive the mood. Meanwhile, the sound design isn't abstract but does use silence for dramatic effect. This is understated but yields to Goblet of Fire's bigger action, higher stakes, and a deeper worldbuilding. Writing: 7/10 Direction: 6/10 Cinematography: 7/10 Acting: 7/10 Editing: 6/10 Sound: 8/10 Score/Soundtrack: 9/10 Production Design: 10/10 Casting: 9/10 Effects: 8/10 Overall Score: 7.7/10 For more of my work: https://guskeller.wixsite.com/moviefilmreviews By @augustkellerwrites

Reviews by: @art_fanatic_313 In the last chapter, after they were thrown out of the farm, the group of survivors found an abandoned prison filled with zombies. In this chapter they decided to live there, so in order to do that they cleaned it up from (almost) all the zombies. When they got in tho they found out that some prisoners live there and while that upsets some of them, they decided to live with them. Rick also goes back to the farm and brings the people who lived there in the prison, in order to be safer. They all spend some time there, but unfortunately they can’t escape death, even if it’s not caused by zombies. Tyreese’s daughter died in a suicide pact she had made with her boyfriend and said boyfriend was killed by Tyreese when he found out. Also, the youngest daughters of the farmer were killed by someone as well (I won’t reveal who). This was a heavy one… There’s so much death in this chapter that it’s devastating. The amount of death has affected everyone and it’s very interesting to see how everyone’s grieving process is very different and how this whole situation changes them. There’s a lot more action and violence in this chapter than in the last ones and while I didn’t expect to like that, because I’m not a big fan of action and violence, it’s all written in such a great way that I loved it. Also, I truly appreciate that this series doesn’t treat death as something fun and entertaining, instead it shows how horrible it is and how it affects everyone. Rick feels very guilty for the death of the two girls, because he’s the one who told their father to come to the prison with them and this guilt almost breaks him and makes him do things that otherwise he wouldn’t. While there’s all this action and violence, there are still many heated debates and verbal fights in this chapter. When they find the person who killed the two girls, the characters discus what they should do with him and if in situations like that the punishment should fit the crime. It’s a very interesting and thought provoking debate. Also, in this chapter, Rick and his wife are having some marital problems and they argue very frequently. Their fights are very well written and interesting, but something that bothers me a bit since the beginning of this series is that I don’t think that Rick’s wife is as well written as most of the other characters. She does have a personality, but she’s a bit bland and not very well rounded in my opinion. A character that’s more interesting than her tho is her 7 year old son. In this chapter he starts having a relationship with another girl and it’s very sweet. That might be the most optimistic and heartwarming part of this chapter. Finally, this chapter raises some new questions. At some point, the characters find out that after someone dies, even is he isn’t bitten by a zombie, he still turns into one. This is something very interesting and I’d love to see if there’s an explanation on to why that happens, in a later chapter. The artwork in this chapter is still not as good as it was in the first one, but I’m getting more used to this artist’s style and I certainly enjoy it more than I did before. The characters’ expressions are clear, they are all easy to tell apart and the panel to panel storytelling is good, so it all works. It’s really nothing special in my opinion, but it’s fine. Overall, this was a great chapter. Very interesting, captivating and painful. So far it’s the most pessimistic and violent chapter, but I “enjoyed” that. 10/10 By @art_fanatic_313

Reviews by: @fixatedcinephile @ryan_the_nixon Reminiscence, the new sci-fi Neo-noir thriller directed by Westworld’s creator Lisa Joy, narrates the life of a veteran living in a dystopian world who offers people a chance to relive their memories. One day, a mysterious woman enters his life and brings a new life filled with distrust and obsession after she suddenly goes missing. One of my most anticipated movies of the year, I was captivated by the mysterious atmosphere and intricate narrative that was displayed in the marketing. It seemed like a combination of Christopher Nolan’s visuals and ambitious storytelling with the gradual tension present in Hithcock’s narratives. However, the film instead delivered not only a very mediocre and unsubstantial attempt of a Neo-noir, but a very bland and forgettable sci-fi blunder. The Good To light up the mood before tearing the film apart, lets start with the elements that stand-out: the visuals. Much like other sci-fi movies of its kind, Reminiscence delivers many jaw-dropping wide shots that are really captivating. There seems to be influence of retrofuturistic genres like cyberpunk and atom punk, vividly displayed in the juxtaposition of mundane settings with highly advance technology, that really enhances the unoriginal narrative (we will get to that later). The costume design also goes along with that aesthetic, displaying apparels that feel distant from the time the movie takes place but that in a way seem to fit appropiately. The Bad Now, everything else in the film is either underwhelming or utterly bad. Beginning with the elements placed in the latter category, the biggest issue I had with the film involved the unimaginative script and the doltish narrative it told. The fictional elements seemed like the ideal setting for this kind of premise, yet somehow not a single moment felt tense or suspenseful. The story was extremely predictable and formulaic, following every trope of the genre possible; because of this, the tension was non-existint. Therefore, taking into account suspense is an essential element in a noir thriller, the film failed to deliver in the mystery aspect and consequentially became boring. It also didn’t help that by the third act, the intents of plot-twists were ridiculous and incomprehensible with the rest of the movie; despite not seeing them coming, by this point I was in such state of uttermost boredom that I really did not care about what was happening. This languor can also be attributed to lack of interesting characterization. Aside from the fact that in my opinion both Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Fergusson are completely miscast and don’t have any believable chemistry, their characters as a whole where not remotely interesting. Jackman’s Nick lacked any redeemable qualities and most of the time came off as annoying and selfish, making it a tough task to root for him. Fergusson’s Mae had some potential at first, but as the mystery unfolds, her characters progressively became very bland and uninspired. The rest of the cast seem more like plot devices than real characters, and the villains are so effortlessly explored they are not even worth mentioning. With hollow characters and an uninventive story, the movie became a chore to watch. Final Thoughts In conclusion, the film had an intriguing premise that was filled with potential, as evidenced at in the visual styling of the movie; but ultimately, the movie decides to exhibit it in the most bland and uninteresting way possible, making it a jarring experience to watch. C+ By @fixatedcinephile 2021 12A director: Lisa Joy Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandie Newton, Cliff Curtis, Marina De Tavira, Daniel Wu, Mojean Aria, Brett Cullen, Natalie Martinez, Angela Sarafyan etc Nick Bannister (Hugh Jackman), a private investigator of the mind. Navigates the alluring world of the past when his life is changed by new client Mae (Rebecca Ferguson) A simple case becomes an obsession after she disappears, and he fights to learn the truth about her. I was very disappointed with Reminiscence. It was very much a film of two halves. My first few positives would be the fantastic cinematography. Interesting concept and idea. Great themes. As well as good character background, mystery and dialogue. This film had an interesting and unique visual style. Whether it was the creative slow mo’s or the beautiful colours and scope the film managed to create. With the concept of the reminiscence and the process behind it being a truly visually stunning element to the film. I thought the concept and idea itself was really interesting. I thought the concept of being drawn to old memories was really well explored. Highlighting the positive and negative side to its high concept in an interesting amount of detail. I also thought because of this, the film touched upon some good themes. The themes on grief and holding onto the past were explored in a unique and interesting way. Giving the film a good amount of depth to explore. I also thought the character background was great, it was fascinating to see a lot of these characters lives being shown to the audience so easily through their memories, it gave you insight into what their life once was and made you understand or sympathise with them. The dialogue was also very strong. Some of the dialogue had a lot of depth to it and made me think a lot about some of the themes and questions the film was asking the audience. Therefore, engaging me with the film as it made me think. Finally, I also thought the film built an interesting mystery in the first half. The character of Mae was mysterious and had this secretive nature to her that really built a very strong mysterious allure and tone. However, my first few negatives would be the odd set up. Jarring shifts in time and rushed pacing. As well as unneeded scenes and underdeveloped and unlikeable characters. The film had a lazy set up between Mae and Nick. Having them meet for the first time because she lost her keys was just lazy and not very creative. Yes, it was explained more later, but they could have thought of something a bit more exciting than some lost keys. There were also some very jarring shifts in time. It was often very unclear on whether a particular scene was real or a memory. And they would often not set it up, so therefore when it was just a memory there was some very jarring changes when they suddenly went back to reality that really effected the pacing for me. There were also so many scenes that felt unneeded. A lot of scenes just repeated themselves or felt derivative of other works. And particular scenes which felt forced and thrown in for the sake of it. There was a lot of underdeveloped characters, the film added a new character into the mix far too often and couldn’t keep up with itself. A lot of the characters were involved with big twists but were hardly in the film which made a lot of the second half completely pointless. And the characters in general were unlikeable. Nick was rude, insensitive and frankly ridiculous with his actions and it made it hard to connect with him as a main character. My final few positives are the chemistry and performances of the two leads. Some decent worldbuilding and twists. Some good development to the plot and action in the first half. And a likeable supporting cast. Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson both had fantastic on-screen chemistry. There chemistry was believable and fun to watch. Their romance was believable and the sexual tension between them both was very noticeable and well done. Both of their performances were also fantastic. Hugh executed a committed and passionate performance and once again proves how strong of an actor he is. Rebecca Ferguson was the true star, with a charming and enchanting performance that worked brilliantly for this kind of film, she played her role to perfection. Some of the worldbuilding was well done, the film expanded on its scope and story world well with a lot of new locations that were vital to the plot added to make the story more interesting. Some of the twists were also well executed. The twist with Mae and her dodgy past was interesting and added great development and a new layer to the film. Some of the action was also very strong. I wish there were more action scenes as the ones we did get were intense and entertaining and visually fascinating. I also thought the supporting cast specifically Thandie Newton was excellent. She bought some refreshing humour to the film and her dynamic with Nick was fascinating. My final few negatives would be the clunky pacing and lack of reveals. The underdeveloped second half. The underwhelming reveals and how tonally confusing it was. And the poor ending. The second half was poor I am just getting that out there. The pacing was so clunky and there was just a lack of reveals. The second half was just so slow and didn’t go anywhere for so long. Without any meaningful development to the plot and characters and no reveals, leaving the audience in the cold for far too long. The second half was poorly written and just underdeveloped. It felt like they didn’t have a clue what they were doing. With poorly written characters and odd creative choices that completely changed the films direction far too often, and the structure was just all over the place. The reveals and twists were also extremely underwhelming. The film spent so long building a strong mystery over the character of Mae and what they ended up doing with her character completely got rid of all that mystery and lure that the film had in underwhelming and poorly written twists. The film also felt very tonally confused. Not really fitting into one specific genre to make itself stand out. With a blend of action, drama, sci fi and film noir that just didn’t blend well together. Finally, the ending was terrible. It was very repetitive and didn’t know when to end. Not really resolving most of the films plot and it felt like it ended multiple times. Overall, Reminiscence has a fascinating visual style, a very strong first half and fantastic performances. But the second half was beyond poor. With terrible creative decisions, A plot that got too over complicated for itself. And it felt like they didn’t have a clue what they were doing. In an underwhelming and forgettable film noir/sci fi that isn’t in the league of the films it was trying to replicate. Overall rating 56/100 By @ryan_the_nixon

Reviews by: @beyondfandom1 Hello everyone, Jt here to give you my review of United States of Captain America #1! I will be reviewing each issue as they drop and give you all my thoughts on it! This book has two different stories inside; "You Brought Two Too Many" written by Christopher Cantwell and "Tracks" written by Josh Trujillo. I will go through each "chapter" and give my overall grade at the end! These two stories were really good in my opinion. I loved the bond that Steve Rodgers and Sam Wilson have with each other and the back and forth jokes and jabs are great as well. The first story really introduces the main plot of this series and makes you think real hard about what the name Captain America truly means. I absolutely LOVED the introduction of Arron Fischer and his story in "Tracks". The character will and should impact the younger generation we have in the world right now and I find that to be a really powerful thing. I thought the pacing was pretty good and the action was a also good. My only compliant was at times the dialogue was a bit drawn out and made the story drag, but I still really enjoyed it! I think this is a series that people should read simply because it hits home and makes you feel like you can go out and be great! Overall this book was a great read and I immediately had to see when issue #2 was releasing (which my review of that is out, go check it out). I give "The United States of Captain America" #1 a 4.5/5! By @beyondfandom1

Reviews by: @ryan_the_nixon @salade_de_films Supernova 2021 15 Director: Harry Macqueen Starring: Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci, Pippa Haywood etc Supernova is about a married couple consisting of Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci) who go travelling across England in their old RV to visit friends, family, and places from their past. Since Tusker was diagnosed with dementia two years prior, their time together is the most important thing they have. Wow what a beautiful and moving film. My first few positives are the charm of the film, the humour, and likeable characters. As well as how romantic the film was, and the fantastic set pieces. This film had such a likeable charm to it. This for me was because of how personal it felt, just seeing two people in love enjoying life and each other’s company was so nice to see, its simplicity was what made it work so well and for it to come across authentically. The film’s main characters were also very likeable. Sam was very relatable in his relaxed view on the world and his love for his partner and how he interacted with his family members made him very easy to connect with. Tusker was an amazingly likeable character, despite everything he was battling he did it all with a smile on his face and a spring in his step, this bought some much-needed comedic moments that landed really well. His character was cheeky and playful and was a delight to watch. I also loved how romantic this film was, the core themes of the film were love. And it was explored to perfection. The love these two characters had for one another after everything they had been through was so heart-warming to watch. I also loved the set pieces of the film, it was simply beautiful to look at, it made me really appreciate the little things and the beauty of nature. Especially with the lake they were staying at, with some drawn out shots to let the beauty of the location sink in. My next few positives would be the performances, chemistry between the two leads, the character depth and development. As well as the emotional weight of the film. The performances here were so beautiful and authentic from both Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci. Stanley had so many beautiful nuances to his performance, despite his mask of happiness that he tried to convey to Sam’s family you could tell by his face he was emotional and hurting. And Colin Firth delivered such a raw and emotional performance that was so beautiful to watch, the chemistry between these two actors was out of this world and truly something special. I thought the character depth and development in the film was excellent, they really went into so much detail into how both of the characters were handling Tusker’s diagnosis, it added so many layers to the characters and a lot of emotion. And how Sam developed as the film went on and his slow acceptance of how Tusker’s situation was both heart-breaking and moving. This film was just so emotional, to see Tusker slowly getting worse and more ill as the film developed and the interactions between both characters, they were so raw and moving and it hit me hard. My final few positives for this incredible film would be the fantastic script, deep themes and moving ending. The script here was fantastic, the dialogue was so powerful and really added that extra punch to the scenes, with so many lines that made you either connect with the characters a lot more, or in my case make you stop and think about how awful living with dementia must be to someone. Supernova tackled some very deep themes in terms of choosing to end your life and the awful effects of dementia, it was handled with sensitivity and care and was excellently done. Finally, I also thought the ending was extremely moving. It was subtle, emotional, and left such a big impact, and a fantastic arc for Sam’s character. Overall, Supernova is an intimate, heartfelt, and moving drama. That tells a beautiful love story and it really moved me. Overall score 99/100 By @ryan_the_nixon Sam (Colin Firth) et Tusker (Stanley Tucci) sont un couple depuis presque 20 ans. Leur vie prend un tournant lorsque Tusker est diagnostiqué d’une démence à évolution rapide. Le couple fait un road-trip en camping-car et voyage en Angleterre pour que Sam donne un concert de piano. En fait, on se rend compte assez rapidement que ce concert n’est qu’un prétexte pour voyager ensemble et se retrouver avant que la maladie de Tusker ne les rattrape. Si vous avez envie de pleurer un bon coup, regardez-le et retrouvez la complémentarité des deux personnages qui cherchent à échapper à leurs problèmes qui sont pourtant inévitables. En bref, un film sobre que l’on ne regarde pas pour sa réal mais pour son drame et ses acteurs. Colin Firth est, une fois de plus, étonnant, sensible et touchant. Je découvre Stanley Tucci, plus renfermé mais n’en fait pas passer moins d’émotions. 🇬🇧 Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci) have been a couple for almost 20 years. Their life changes when they learned that Tusker is sick : he is diagnosed with rapidly progressing dementia. They’re traveling by camper van to England for Sam to give a piano concert. In fact, we understand that this concert is just an excuse to travel together before Tusker’s illness catches up with them. If you want to cry, watch it and meet the complementarity of these two characters who try to escape their problems, which are nevertheless inevitable. In short, a sober film that we don’t watch for its realization, but for its drama and its actors. Again, Colin Firth is amazing, sensitive and touching. I discover Stanley Tucci, more withdrawn, but doesn’t convey less emotion. By @salade_de_films

Reviews by: @tvnerdaran Initially when I first watched Michael Cimino’s sprawling and ambitious 1980 Western epic, ‘Heaven’s Gate’, I strongly disliked it. At first, I found it boring, meandering, self-indulgent, and far too slow. However, as I kept re-examining the film and playing it over and over in my head, I have realised that the film is a truly epic cinematic experience like no other, and these gripes I had with it disappeared as I remember now with awe the memory of watching such an epic film. It’s not only the film’s epic scope or jaw-dropping cinematography that stands out to me, but also the film’s story and themes: showcasing the United States of America, not as a land of freedom, equality and opportunity, but instead unveils the country dark underbelly and their bloody history of greed, racism, classism, and genocide. The film is a scathing social commentary on how the wealthy upper classes of American society have continuously suppressed, dominated and eradicated impoverished immigrants throughout the country’s dark history, and in this essay, I will explore what makes ‘Heaven’s Gate’ such a special film in my view. ‘Heaven’s Gate’ centres its story primarily around the Johnson County Wars, with the main protagonist Sheriff James Averill (played by Kris Kristofferson) seeks to protect a large community of impoverished immigrants from the murderous wrath of the wealthy and elite cattle barons who seek to have them exterminated. The film also focuses on his relationships with Ella Watson (played by Isabelle Huppert), the woman he loves, and his rival Nathan D. Champion (played by Christopher Walken), who works as a hired assassin for the elite cattle barons. Both Averill and Champion love the same woman, and the love triangle between Averill, Ella and Champion is set amidst the backdrop of the Johnson County War and the extermination of impoverished immigrants at the hands of the wealthy cattle barons. The film is stunningly and gorgeously shot by Vilmos Zsigmond, who also photographed Cimino’s previous masterpiece, ‘The Deer Hunter’. The wide vistas and beautiful natural scenery, as well as the opulent interiors all add a sense of awe and mysticism to the film that engrosses the viewer and creates a truly wondrous spectacle to behold. The film is also excellently acted, with Kris Kristofferson giving his finest performance as he subtly portrays Averill, a man of upper-class roots and prestige, who nobly makes it his mission in life to protect the immigrants and lower classes. He stands up for those who are essentially weaker than him, making him a true man of the people. Isabelle Huppert is also superb as the beautiful Ella Watson, as her kind and gentle nature, as well as her strong will and determination make her both a strong female character and immensely sympathetic to the audience. Christopher Walken stands out among the three leads as he gives a charismatic and haunting performance as the conflicted Nathan D. Champion who works as an assassin for the wealthy elites, but soon gains a conscience and turns against them when they commit further and further atrocities onto the poor immigrants, including his love Ella. Walken gives an equally complex and haunted portrayal of a complicated man here as he did with his Oscar-winning performance in ‘The Deer Hunter’. Aside from the three excellent leads, the film also boasts a strong supporting cast consisting of John Hurt, Jeff Bridges, Brad Dourif and Sam Waterston as the film’s pompous and scheming primary antagonist. The film also has a very lyrical and poetic nature to it, with the grand vistas and awe-inspiring scenery being hauntingly juxtaposed against the hated and brutality committed onto its characters. Zsigmond’s painterly portrait of late 19th century Wyoming gives the film a beautifully imaginative poeticism that captures the world Cimino has constructed as one of great beauty and great horror, rivalling the films of Terrence Malick and Andrei Tarkovsky in terms of beautiful scenes of natural imagery and landscapes. However, what I arguably love most about Michael Cimino’s ‘Heaven’s Gate’ is the scathing social and historical commentary on class conflict, genocide, greed and the true face of America. For decades, America has been portrayed in popular media as a land of freedom, equality and opportunity, with the United States constantly being proclaimed by countless figures in popular media as “the greatest country on Earth”. ‘Heaven’s Gate’ however unveils that facade and reveals the dark underbelly and history of America. In truth, America is a country that was built on the genocide and colonisation of Native Americans, America is a country that was built off the backbone of African slaves, America is a country where the rich have consistently dominated and crushed the poor, and America is a country where the vast majority of its politicians are bought off by giant corporations and create proxy wars, invading other countries in pursuit of profit and expansion. ‘Heaven’s Gate’ is a sprawling commentary on the true face of America, with the film’s brutal depiction of wealthy cattle barons massacring innocent impoverished immigrants who want nothing more than a better life for themselves. The film is stark, brutal and painfully honest, as Sam Waterston’s pompous, scheming and utterly corrupt main villain Frank Canton represents all that is wrong with America and its history of corruption, abuse and exploitation. You can find the same features of figures like Canton in megalomaniacs like Donald Trump, with both sharing a xenophobic hatred of immigrants and complete disregard for the poor, while seeking to further enrich themselves and their upper-class companions. Canton also resembles Andrew Jackson, the 7th U.S. President who committed the bloody Trail of Tears genocide and displacement of countless Native Americans. Above all, Canton represents the insatiable greed and corruption that has defined America’s history for centuries. The film is a scathing critique of America’s western expansion, and completely rebukes the whitewashed lies and exceptionalism of the early Westerns from the likes of John Ford and John Wayne. The film also gives a brutal but honest portrayal of rape, when Ella is brutally raped by Canton’s men before Averill arrives and murders all of them. Many classic films have been notably problematic in their depictions of rape, with Sergio Leone’s ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ depicting its main protagonist Noodles graphically raping the so-called “love of his life” Deborah, and still expecting us the audience to feel a certain measure of sympathy for him despite his disgusting and monstrous act. Though a masterpiece, ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ notably fails in my view to fully confront the horror and evil of sexual assault. In ‘Heaven’s Gate’ however, rape is rightfully depicted as a completely monstrous, sadistic and horrific act of pure malevolence, with Ella’s rapists being shown purely as the scum of the earth they are, with there being no sense of romanticism or expectancy to feel any sense of sympathy towards her assaulters whatsoever, much unlike ’Once Upon a Time in America’. This vile and outright repulsive act only serves to further highlight the monstrosity of Canton and the wealthy cattle barons. But what makes ‘Heaven’s Gate’ stand out so much to me is it’s uncompromisingly bleak ending. In the end, Canton and his men succeed in slaughtering all of the impoverished immigrants as they sought out to do, with both Ella and Nate dying at the hands of Canton and his men. Unlike other films of the 1980’s, with commercialised blockbuster franchises such as ’Star Wars’ and ‘Indiana Jones’ always featuring good triumphing over evil and the heroes defeating the villains, this film takes the complete opposite route. There is no triumph of good over evil. Though Averill manages to kill Canton, the damage is done. All of the immigrants who Averill sought to protect, including Ella, were slaughtered by Canton and his men, and those who stood against it like Nate were dispatched of in similarly cold-blooded fashion. In the end, Averill is left completely alone, stuck in a wealthy but isolated existence, a far cry from the freedom and openness of the West. There truly is no happy ending for ‘Heaven’s Gate’ as there likewise is for the never-ending saga that is the history of the United States of America. To close this review, I will leave the reader with this short but honest review from Letterboxd film critic Logan Kenny. “a nation built on death, acts of genocide, corruption, capital and bitter hatred. the executions may differ but the principles remain the same, nothing really changes, the americana still remains and the poor are still being murdered, their corpses left on the battlefield to rot. god bless the United States right? this is one of the greatest films ever made.” - Logan Kenny. With all of this, including the film’s epic scope, sprawling narrative, and scathing social and historical commentary, ‘Heaven’s Gate’ has now gone on from a film I once hated to my new favourite film of all time. By @tvnerdaran

Reviews by: @solemnreads 8.5/10 I feared this book might not live up to the hype. I must confess, the first few chapters didn’t grab me, but with every passing chapter Miller’s prose came alive until I couldn’t stop myself from devouring page after page. I was hunched over by the time I reached those last few pages, clinging to every last word as I continued to read by lamp-light well into the night. I expected knowing the story of the Iliad to diminish this modern reimagining, but if anything it made the pointed ironies and foreshadowing all the more foreboding and painful to endure. A must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in Greek mythology, this book has more than earned the endless praise associated with it. By @solemnreads

Reviews by: @cine.pill From the documentary-esque sequence at the opening I could tell that Oslo, August 31st is a story about human connection with their memories and hometown. But looking further into the film, I realized it was also a story about human connection with depression and their pursuit of happiness in a meaningless life that eventually leads to self-destruction. Joachim Trier captured a one day life of a recovering drug addict set in his hometown Oslo with such a beautiful and poignant way. He is not only successfully captured the mundane beauty of Oslo. But he also told a gritty and depressing story of a man with an addiction and depression caused by an existential thoughts that he couldn't escape. The little moments from the film really made it as a poetic experience. From the scene at the cafe where our main character Anders sit and observed people, to the scene where he talked with his friend at the park bench. They're all carved into my brain like a relief and I will never get rid of it, even if I could. By @cine.pill

Reviews by: _pilots_on_the_ground_ Rocket League is a "vehicular soccer", or as I know it, car football, game developed and published by Psyonix. The game was released 4th of July 2015. Let's get this straight, this game is football, not any of this soccer shit. Right, now, the review. Rocket League is great fun to play, with different game modes, it can be played with up to 4 people on a team, it has competitive games too, which place you in a rank and division, win games to division up, lose and division down. The rules are simple. Score a goal, win a point, most points after 5 minutes wins. It's literally the rules of football if I have to explain it then that's on you for not knowing how football works. The cars are heavily customisable, from small things like little flags or hats, to animated decals, there's a lot of options for how you can make your car look, and you can trade with people so if you want that black market decal illegal stuff then just get in contact with a paint dealer than ain't B&Q. As for game modes, there's standard, competitive, rumble and dropshot. Rumble is essentially the same as standard but includes power ups like plungers and grappling hooks, it makes the game a lot more chaotic. And dropshot is where you break the floor by hitting it with the ball, the pitch is divided into 2 teams, you have to drop the ball through a hole you make in the floor on the enemies side. Get it? I'm running out of space, basically Rocket League is a really fun game to play with friends and is easy to spend a lot of hours on, I've played way too much of it, and it's not very expensive. It's on sale or free a lot of the time on Steam. By @_pilots_on_the_ground_

Reviews by: _pilots_on_the_ground_ Mhm oh yeah, quality. This game is great honestly. Assassin's Creed III is a 2012 action-adventure video game developed and published by Ubisoft, It is the fifth major installment in the Assassin's Creed series, and a direct sequel to 2011's Assassin's Creed: Revelations. Assassin's Creed 3 was the Assassin's Creed game that got me into the franchise, and looking back at it, there a few things that I don't like but they're not game changing. I don't like the map, it's not open, it has sections with whole loading screens, cmon, I found it easy to get lost because if you don't know where you are then it's impossible to navigate back. The story is also far too short, perhaps I just finished it quickly, but it just seemed as though there wasn't enough, the ending is abrupt and I didn't see it coming. But everything else is good about this game, one of my favourite Assassin's Creed combat styles, the Reddittor tomohawk is cool, the parkour is really fun, maybe because all the trees are conveniently lined up. Achilles is a cool guy but I cannot beat him at that stupid board game. Good game, buy it, it slaps, Connor is an interesting protagonist, shaped by his background, I think most people who like this style game would enjoy Assassin's Creed 3. By @_pilots_on_the_ground_

Reviews by: @the_owlseyes “Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven't the answer to a question you've been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you're alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.” Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth PLOT "A Pond" or "There's no plot....surprise". SCRIPT It's a minimalistic short, there's no need for it. Script: 6/10 ACTING There's none because plants and snow can't act. It's enough for me, because this movie is about the nature. Acting: 6/1 PHOTOGRAPHY The use of B&W, alternated with coloured transitions, gives to this short an interesting feeling. I like the artistic choice to associate B&W with winter and colours with spring or summer. There're a lot of beautiful shots and I think that photography is the best thing of this short. Photography: 8/10 EDITING It's pretty simple, without any of the industry's cliches. A Minimalistic approach to nature which pays off greatly. Editing: 7/10 SPECIAL EFFECTS I think that this short deserves a lot of credit for not using CGI and stuff like that. Being a movie about nature, it would've been detrimental for the movie. It's a relief, considering how misused the VFX are by the industry. Special Effects: 7/10 SOUNDTRACK One of the best aspects of this short. Here is used a gripping and creepy music which creates a sense of uneasiness which makes me think that there's more in the pit than what we're let too see. Simple but effective. I like it. Soundtrack: 7/10 COSTUMES It's a pond. There isn't much to say about costumes. Their absence make for a weird but intriguing movie. Costumes: 6/10 CONCLUSION Script: 6/10 Acting: 6/10 Photography: 8/10 Editing: 7/10 Special Effects: 7/10 Soundtrack: 7/10 Costumes: 6/10 AVERAGE: 6,71 A minimalistic movie which is both weird and fascinating. Everything is left to imagination but this are 4 minutes worth watching. Give it a try, you won't regret it. By @the_owlseyes

Reviews by: @thedefinitionofcreativity (500) Days of Summer is a romantic comedy that I think many people misunderstand. But it does have some cultural relevance, exploring the complexity of relationships, even though I wouldn’t know fully The entire film is told from the perspective of Tom, which is the most important detail of the film, but also something that not many romance films do. The story usually involves the perspectives of both people in the relationship. Tom has this ideal, romantic view on love: soulmates, destiny, fate etc. So when he sees Summer, it’s love at first sight. I think he forces a relationship with her because of this, and she is viewed as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl by Tom. When I first watched the film, I thought Summer was so rude and self-centred, but then I realised that because she isn’t objectively portrayed, I can’t make that judgement about her. A Manic Pixie Dream Girl is a character trope where there is a woman who is quirky, fun and attractive, but her only purpose is complete the man min the story (Tom). This is all Tom sees Summer as, but we get a glance that Summer is not this character trope because she has her own desires. “I just don't feel comfortable being anyone's girlfriend. I don't actually feel comfortable being anyone's anything, you know?” What I’ve realised as I’ve watched the film more and more is that the technical elements also feel as though they are told by Tom. The non-linear structure of the film shows contrasts within their relationship, such as the two scenes in the record shop, and the expectations vs reality scene which is the best example of juxtaposition. Even when Tom finds out that Summer is engaged to someone else: the cinematography fades from white to grey. I like the scenes where Tom is immersed in scenes from iconic classic films. This, to me, says that Tom’s life is the subject of a film and that he needs to change, as without some slight presence of a character arc, there is no purpose of a film. The dialogue shows how Tom has matured as a result of his relationship with Summer. At the end, when Tom and Summer are sitting on the park bench, Tom realises that his love views were flawed, but then Summer says that he is partly right in that she wouldn’t have met her husband had it not been for fate. What if she had stayed at home or gone to the cinema, instead of going to the café where they first met each other? This reassures Tom that not all of their relationship was damaging, but because his ignorance of Summer’s thoughts, it appeared one-sided. In that same scene, he says to Summer: “I really do hope you’re happy.” This is the first time where he said or perceived something that isn’t about him; it’s about Summer. This transition in maturity towards relationships is clear, and is symbolic through him quitting his job as a greeting card writer as well. I think this job is quite ironic because Tom has had this unrealistic view on love, but he’s determining the love messages and intentions of other people, which I think is what he does with Summer. And the character arc is clear when he says: “What does that word even mean - love?” Conclusion. Is Summer rude and self-centred? Absolutely not, because she is only viewed by Tom that way, not by us. We don’t have an outsiders view of Summer, so we can never know. Is Tom an idiot? Yes, but he changes because he realises how he’s misunderstood Summer and not properly listened to her. I think this film is different from other romance films because it actually reflects modern culture. I think a lot of people nowadays expect so much from someone else in a relationship, that their relationship doesn’t last. And I don’t think they necessarily have to have a fate and destiny perspective like Tom, but the way that romantic relationships have been portrayed in the media has perpetuated these high standards. This film provides the realism behind that concept, making it universally and socially relevant. By @thedefinitionofcreativity

Reviews by: @the_owlseyes “A wood at night, or even more at twilight, can be a strange place. Fear begins to come more quickly in a wood, with darkness and twilight, than in any other place I know” H.E. Bates, Through the Woods PLOT "Shot in one day, WWYD Films bring a terrifying tale to life where a young woman finds her exploration of the wilderness despoiled by a menacing presence. " or "Danger comes without a warning. SCRIPT It's pretty simple but it works. Being a short allows its characters to shine without flaws, because most of the informations are left to the imagination, like the finale. I like the build up to the climax and the fact that we're given hint to the impending doom of the protagonist by the first scene. The ending, where we experience the aftermath of what happened on the screen, it's perfect. I think that it's a good script overall. Script: 7/10 ACTING The actors don't have dialogues and I think that this helps them delivering a more interesting performance. Sure it isn't exceptional but it makes this movie elevates above most short movies which rely on unexperienced actors. I think that I should give credit to the director for this sharp choice. Acting: 7/10 PHOTOGRAPHY Most of the times the light is flat but there're a lot of good things here. Colours have a meaning, like red and black, and there're some good looking shots. I think that overall is competent but it isn't enough to say that it's remarkable. It works. Photography: 7/10 EDITING As the soundtrack, this has a remarkable first act and a mediocre second one. In the first act there're simple but effective editing techniques. The second half indulges too much on shaky camera and it makes the movie a bit annoying. I like how the stalker is framed but I don't like how the production managed the last part of this short. I like the choice to focus on the actions on the screen rather than the words spoken. Editing: 6/10 SPECIAL EFFECTS There're a few practical effects but they're not relevant. Considering the budget, this is a clever use of SFX. Special Effects: 6/10 SOUNDTRACK One of the best things about this movie. The soundtrack is purely instrumental and is characterized by an heavy dose of eeriness and wonder. It's fascinating and it sets the tone masterfully. There's a point when a barking sound is overimposed on the soundtrack and it's a bit unsettling. At first it seems random but, after a second view, it's clear that it was put there to tease what comes next. It loses a bit of quality and becomes a bit average during the dynamic part of this movie. I think that it would've worked better without the soundtrack, to generate more tension. Nonetheless I'm pretty satisfied. Soundtrack: 7/10 COSTUMES They're simple but effective. I like the fact that this short is able to represent the stalker in a striking and memorable way, even though it's a bit derivative. Costumes: 6/10 CONCLUSION Script: 7/10 Acting: 7/10 Photography: 7/10 Editing: 6/10 Special Effects: 6/10 Soundtrack: 7/10 Costumes: 6/10 AVERAGE: 6,57 A good short made of a good concept, interesting editing and a remarkable soundtrack. I advise you to watch to appreciate all the work which has been put by this small production. By @the_owlseyes

Reviews by: _pilots_on_the_ground_ There is many mixed opinions about this game so I will highlight both sides of the argument. Anthem is an online multiplayer RPG developed by BioWare and published by EA, released February 22, 2019. In my opinion this game is great fun, with the four classes of exosuit there is a range of how you want your gameplay experience, however there was limitations, the exosuits weren't game changing, you could use any of them to do anything really, and there wasn't a lot of weapon variation, perhaps I didn't play the game enough to find out but I didn't see a huge count of weapons. As for the map and story, the story was far too short, it really was not lengthy, I was disappointed at the length of the story, and the open world while it is kind of cool it's so easy to get lost because everything's looks the same, and as for side quests and things that you can actually do that are non essential to the story are pretty boring to be honest. This game isn't fun to play alone, it really has to be played with friends, it's expensive too, last I checked it was £49.99 I think it should only be £29.99, I'd only pay £30 for it, not £50. It's an overall good game but it has a lot of flaws so if you want to buy it then just make sure you actually want it because it's one of those games where you'll buy and love it or buy it and regret having ever spent a penny on it. By @_pilots_on_the_ground_

Reviews by: @art_fanatic_313 After the death of a certain character at the end of the last chapter, the members of the group of survivors decide to make Rick their leader and he decides that they should move further away from the city. Before they do so tho Rick’s wife announces that she’s pregnant, something that worries almost everyone. When they start moving, while driving, they find a guy named Tyreese, his daughter and her boyfriend. The three of them join the group and all together go in a small abandon town, but after spending a night at one of the houses they realise that the town is filled with zombies and they have to leave quickly. While leaving one of the members of the group, gets killed by zombies, devastating emotionally her husband and kids. Soon after, while hunting, Rick’s son gets shot by a stranger who was hunting as well. All together take him to the farm this stranger was living and the owner of the farm patches him up and let’s them stay there until he gets better. That’s what they do, but things at the farm don’t go very well. In this volume we start really seeing how this zombie apocalypse has affected everyone. All the characters are in a terrible psychological condition and every moment they are about to break. They also are in desperate need of a romantic companion, so many of the members of the group start hooking up with each other. It’s said by one of them that what he wants is to have sex, but it’s very obvious that what drives the characters into getting together in romantic relationships isn’t horniness, but the need to have someone close to them, so that they won’t have to go through all of this death, destruction and sadness alone. Something that I enjoyed a lot in this chapter is that there isn’t really a lot of action and violence (at least not as much as you’d expect from a title like this). There are many heated debates and arguments and the action is mostly internal. At some point, in one of these arguments, the owner of the farm that the characters spend some time in raises the ethical question, if it’s right to kill the zombies. He supports that they shouldn’t kill them, because they don’t know what made them that way in the first place and if there’s a cure. That’s something very interesting to think about, but unfortunately the comic doesn’t really give the reader much time to do so, because the answer comes a few dozen pages later, in a far too violent way. Another thing that I liked is that the characters grieve and contrary to many films and comics with a similar concept, it shows that death is nothing to treat lightly and present as entertainment. The artwork in this chapter is done by a different artist than in the first volume and in my opinion it’s not as good. It’s very similar and it fits well in the story, but it feels a bit lazy and with less details. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad at all, but it could’ve been better. Overall, this was a good chapter. A lot of things happen and some very interesting new characters and ideas are introduced. I don’t think that’s it’s as good as the first one, but it’s certainly very good and enjoyable. 9/10 By @art_fanatic_313

Reviews by: @moviemaniac5 @blog.cinema.coin Incendies is a devastating family drama that follows two siblings (Jeanne and Simon) who, after their mother's death, dig deep into her past to uncover the truth about their father and their lost brother. The movie is a mix of Nawal's (Jeanne and Simon's mom) life in flashbacks and the present, and then finally Jeanne and Simon's trip to the Middle East. For me, the movie cuts right in the perfect time the life of Nawal to go back to the present, preserving the mystery but also unveiling Nawal's dark past. The saddest thing is that this story could've perfectly happened in real life knowing how different society is and all the wars there has been in the Middle East. Lubna Azabal's performance was stunning, as she really managed to show the pain her character was feeling. Denis Villeneuve's direction is excellent, as he makes everything shown in the story relate in the final act. I think nobody expected that ending and that twist. Towards the end though, I did guess that Marwan was Jeanne and Simon's brother, but I totally didn't see coming that he was their father as well, just like I didn't expect such a brutal story. Although there is no indication of where Nawal's living, it's clear that it's Lebanon, for the ongoing civil war. The time of war at Lebanon was very dangerous, and you had to be careful where you were because, depending on the place, you had to fake your religion. Nawal is a Christian, who where seen as terrorists and rebels by the muslims, and that's why Nawal suffered a lot while in prison. I liked how the movie reflected the war at Lebanon and at the same time explained Nawal's story, both things were well complemented. I really liked how the bus scene showed things are temporary. Nawal was peacefully sleeping when, suddenly, she wakes up and sees she's in danger. The christians retained the bus because it was full of muslims, and this time it was Nawal's religion that saved her. It is also ironic, because to get into the bus she had to fake she was a muslim by covering her hair and to avoid death, she had to defend herself by showing her real religion, Christianity. In the bus scene, everything Nawal used to have disappears in one moment, and the huge impact can be seen on Nawal's face, greatly acted by Lubna Azabal. In the overture of Incendies, a group of young boys have most of their hair shaved off by soldiers. There's this one boy who has three vertical dots tattooed on the back of his foot, who stares into the camera with a look of monstrous hate, a stare that really digs into the mind. It's not until the end of the film that you understand the full implications of that stare, what led up to it, and what happened afterward. When you do, it hits you like a blow. For a moment, you also get to understand why Marwan did what he did: he was full of hate as a consequence of what happened to him when he was a little boy. One of the messages of this film is that hate can lead to the worst of things, and it can slowly burn a person from the inside (not literally). By @moviemaniac5 Based on Wajdi Mouawad's 2005 play "Scorched". Villeneuve's film is not a film especially for all audiences. It requires a certain sensitivity to digest a tragedy, a certain knowledge of history and an appreciation of a certain form of cinema. 1. The tragedy: Villeneuve faithfully follows the emotional crescendo of the theatrical play, in which the facts lead to increasingly intolerable truths. However, I would point out that the tragedy we are about to see is mediated by the focus on two specific points of view. We do not see the tragedy from the outside, but we witness it from the point of view of the children who ignore what is happening and from the memory of the mother before she dies. 2. Lebanon. The challenge in these parts has been enormous when it comes to setting the context of the story. Nawal's story is set in the 1970s, during the civil war between Christian nationalists and Palestinian refugees. Mouwad and Villeneuve do not invent anything. Everything that is told in the film happened in real life. 3. A cinematic approach. Villeneuve does several things well, the first one is to organize the double storyline in 9 chapters, centered on characters and spaces: The twins, Nawal, Darash, Derassa, Kafl Khour, The Woman Who Sings, Nihad, Chamabdin, etc. The director is underpinning the destination places of each section, closer and closer to the final destination. The second is the use of symbols. Mathematics appears as a rational way of approaching reality and as a form of solitude. The number has a special significance, because it represents the failure of rational inquisition to the world of hatred and war. The second great symbol is the opposition of fire and water. The pool appears as a space where to calm the "fires" of truth. Fire burns and hides. Villeneuve does not show everything, only that which leads to the devastating ethical-moral consequence. Anything goes to get us to what the director wants to show us. Moreover, with sound and music Villeneuve combines disconcerting uses of Radiohead, with Lebanese lullabies. By @blog.cinema.coin

Reviews by: @badtakegoodtake @augustkellerwrites I can bet my savings there's a review out there that has called Sorry to Bother You "wildly original". Big deal! It's true! I'm also fairly certain it's been called "absurdist" and "a scathing social commentary", which yes to both labels. Thing is, I'm not sure if this film would even want to be eternally trapped within these titles and adjectives, since it does so much more than all that. To inevitably water down what Sorry to Bother You represents, it is one of the few films I have seen that completely and accurately portray what modern society looks like right now, whether it's race relations or the external and internal effects of capitalism or moral quandaries or personal identity in general. It's not for anyone that doesn't want to be jolted out of their comfort zone, that's for sure. It's a very uncomfortable film that doesn't have to be tightly wound or perfectly crafted to make you think, even just a little bit. I wasn't completely sold on all of its narrative beats and I found Cassius' rise through the ranks to be too unbelievably fast for my taste. It's abundantly clear that this film succeeds more as a whole and as separate parts and ideas, than seeing these individual parts get stitched together to create a story (if you know what I mean). To sum it up, it's a ride. Boots Riley is a daring voice that I'd like to hear and see more of. 4/5 By @badtakegoodtake Sorry to Bother You is witty and unique. The story is absurd because its sobering social commentary is more disarming when hyperbolized, evoking relatable laughter. The plot of a struggling man choosing between personal stability and collective progress is a trope, but highly relevant. Plus, Sorry to Bother You differentiates itself with exaggeration, biting comedy, and political weight. Racism, classism, and social norms are directly challenged, yet the film miraculously maintains its playful tone. Furthermore, the acting perfectly matches Sorry to Bother You's delicate balance of humor and drama. Overall, this script is incredibly funny, intelligent, and powerful. Technically, Sorry to Bother You is visionary. The cinematography uses dynamic lighting, focus, composition, dolly zooms, and colors. Its sound gets symbolically faint, its editing has flavorful match cuts, and its soundtrack is eclectic. The effects employ prosthetics, CGI, and claymation, heightening the surreal atmosphere. Also, the production design is cartoonish, mirroring the satirical themes. The cast is deep, and the direction is effortlessly cohesive. From figurative representations to clever transitions, the filmmaking is truly creative. Its strangeness may confuse some, but viewers who appreciate irreverence will love Sorry to Bother You wholeheartedly. Writing: 10/10 Direction: 10/10 Cinematography: 10/10 Acting: 8/10 Editing: 9/10 Sound: 9/10 Score/Soundtrack: 9/10 Production Design: 8/10 Casting: 8/10 Effects: 9/10 Overall Score: 9.0/10 By @augustkellerwrites

Film Noir refers to a type of film that gained popularity in the 1940s and 50s, primarily in Hollywood. These films deal with crime and the seedy underbelly of society, often including gangsters, detectives and private investigators, and corrupt practices. Films Noir were heavily influenced by the German Expressionism film movement of the 1910s and 20s. Visual motifs in films noir often include low-key lighting with an emphasis on shadows, high-contrast black and white photography, Dutch angles, and unconventional framing and composition. Stock characters often feature in noir, such as the femme fatale, an alluring but suspicious woman who often pulls the protagonist into the criminal world. The protagonist is often a private eye figure, sometimes a detective but sometimes just an ordinary man that becomes entangled in the events of the film. Films noir often utilize flashbacks as a framing device, with the protagonist narrating the past events as they unfolded. The protagonist is typically reluctant to become involved in the events of the film until they lured into it by a femme fatale, the promise of compensation or some item of value, or to uncover a conspiracy. The plots of noir films are often convoluted, with double crosses and red herrings. Film scholars debate on whether film noir is a genre or not; some scholars believe that true film noir is temporally and geographically limited to World War II and post-war era Hollywood because many (though not all) directors of film noir were originally involved in German Expressionism in Europe, and fled to Hollywood during the rise of the Nazi Party. These scholars argue that film noir is not a genre because it could not have existed without the influence of WWII and the flight of expressionist directors to Hollywood. Noir films made after this classic period are generally considered "neo-noir." Neo-noir films from the 1960s and onward often utilize the visual and narrative elements of classic noir, but also consciously acknowledge and subvert the archetypes and narrative conventions of the classics. The femme fatale may become a more tragic figure than villainous, and the protagonist more morally ambiguous than heroic. The elements of nihilism, crime and corruption, hardboiled dialogue, and convoluted plot present in classic noir have made their way into a variety of films such as Chinatown (1974), Blade Runner (1982), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Basic Instinct (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), and The Big Lebowski (1998). While these elements may be altered, subverted, or placed in a different setting, they are easily recognizable as hailing from the classics. By @reelworld_reviews

Reviews by: @detoxwithp_talksofficial This is pure art, this is pure cinema. I love this movie. Technically speaking, it's as stellar as the emotional aspect of this film. The cinematography and set design is beautiful. The city feels like a living breathing person full of colour and life. The daylight scenes in this film are gorgeous to look at. It's a feast for our eyes. The camera feels like a character, a person, showing us these events in real time. Letting us see them in their moments of happiness, and in their moments of despair. It cuts between real-time and flashbacks to show how Theo (main character) is reminiscing over his relationship with his ex-wife Catherine. How it all seems jolly at first, but then the film cuts to the present, contrasting it with a comparatively much bleaker tone. This is great art because it made me "feel". I felt happy, sad, surprised, turned on, warm. It made me feel like a real person. The characters work for me, because they are flawed people. It touches on the complexities of human life perfectly. We're not perfect, and sometimes we make the wrong decisions. We're imperfect, make mistakes, are jerks and can be apathetic. But it also focuses on the positive. Such as, how we can be caring, empathetic, worried, loving and empathetic. It reminded me of what it truly feels to be "Human." It defined the essence of humanity that didn't need exposition, or needed to be spoon fed to the audience. What I personally took from the film is that, humanity is about people, and accepting those people into our lives despite their flaws. It made me want to be a better person. After experiencing this piece of art, it made me want to sit next to my friend, and talk to them about life. All the good and bad things about it. Made me want to connect with other people. Connect with humanity. It made me want to take a camera, and shoot something, anything. It really changed me. I know I'm not talking about the "film" so much, but more about how it affected me. But that's what I wanted to talk about. How can anyone not love this movie? It's the kind of film that reinforced my love for "cinema." Cinema really is the greatest art form. (according to me) As you might already know, I love this movie. This is an emotionally vulnerable review, but i needed to get this out. If you haven't watched this film yet, please do. It's realistic in terms of the reality of life. It's lonely and painful and relatable. We can project ourselves onto the characters of this film, and watching it makes us feel, a little less lonely. Thank you for reading. By @detoxwithp_talksofficial

Reviews by: @art_fanatic_313 In the first volume of the series we follow a cop named Rick who falls in a month long coma after getting shot in the line of duty. After he wakes up he sees that almost everyone has turned into zombies (in the comic they don’t call them zombies tho, because they weren’t a part of their pop culture). He quickly learns that most people have moved into the big cities, so he does that as well, in order to find his wife and kid. When he arrives in the big city tho he sees that everyone has turned into zombies there as well, but with the help of another survivor he finds outside of the city a small camp with more survivors, two of which are his wife and son. Another one of the members of the camp is his cop partner who has feelings for Rick’s wife. All together try to survive against the zombies in this apocalypse. This was much better than I expected and I can clearly see why this whole series was and still is vastly successful. It’s very well written, with great character moments, but also great action. It’s very sweet and also action packed and captivating. I think that this combination is what makes it so easy to read and love. This volume is certainly centered around the characters and their relationships. It’s very interesting how this group of mostly strangers tries to survive from the zombies and also the daily interactions with one another. This situation has affected almost everyone for the worse and it’s understandable that they are all on edge. They try to come up with plans to survive, but because everyone is nervous and everything is a life or death situation they frequently fight for said plans. Something else that I liked a lot in this first volume is that main characters start dying, something that indicates that the reader shouldn’t get very attached to the characters, because Robert Kirkman clearly has no problem killing them. The artwork is really beautiful. It’s not very realistic, so the violence isn’t very gory nor the zombies are disgusting and while that might sound like it doesn’t fit with a story like that, in my opinion it works perfectly, because it let’s the reader focus on things other than the violence. Anyone can still “enjoy” said violence, but he/she can also appreciate that this comic is much more than just a zombie apocalypse horror story and it’s mostly about the characters, their reactions and their relationships. Overall I think that this was a really great start to the series that introduces the world, the characters and the basic plot very well and sets the mood for what’s to come. 10/10 By @art_fanatic_313

Reviews by: @ryan_the_nixon The Croods 2: A new age 2021 PG Director: Joel Crawford Starring: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Cloris Leachman, Clark Duke, Leslie Mann, Peter Dinklage, Kelly Marie Tran etc The Croods 2 a new age follows the prehistoric family the croods, who are challenged by a rival family the Batterman’s, who claim to be better and more evolved. Wow what a fantastic film and for me, one of the strongest animations I have seen in a long time. My first few positives would be the fantastic animation. Great character background and charm. As well as the chemistry between the characters and the development between the family. Whilst also executing excellent humour. This films animation was absolutely stunning. It has improved considerable since the first film. It was visually bold, creative, and striking and truly beautiful to see. I often was in awe at the beauty of some of the shots and the richness of the world they created. I also really liked the background they gave to Guy, I think the film added some interesting background and depth to Guy that was missing from the first film. Having his parents die and him searching for his new tomorrow made you connect with his character a lot more and set up the main plot point and developed the story well. The film also had such a loveable charm to it. All the characters just work so well and are fun to watch, and how the plot was structured with the creative visuals catching you up with the family it was just very charming, and this stayed consistent throughout. What helped is that the family have fantastic chemistry as well as all of the voice actors, the characters just bounce off each other so well. The line delivery was fast paced, and all of the voice actors went all in and you could really tell as the characters had a natural and fun connection with each other. I also really liked the development to the family, each character had grown since the first film, in terms of there relationship or what they wanted to do with there life, and it was really interesting to see the conflict and themes that came from this. Finally, the humour was fantastic. I haven’t laughed or had such a good time with a film in so long. Pretty much all of the jokes landed, they were quick paced. Well delivered and cleverly done. The characters had there own distinct personality and were all funny in their own way. A lot of the humour was stupid and silly but there is nothing wrong with embracing that side to you every once in a while. I only had a few slight issues with the film. There were some conflicting plot points, the conflict was resolved too easily. And the pacing was slightly too chaotic in places. I did feel like there was certain plot points that conflicted too much. They tried to break Eep and Guy up with the Betterman’s daughter but also set up a friendship with Eep and their daughter, and there were just a few instances where there was two conflicting plot points and I preferred one over the other, so I thought the film tried to add slightly too much in places. I also thought conflict was resolved too easily. There were moments where the film was building some good conflict between two characters. But then they resolved it and the film just moved on with the characters very quickly, it needed to have slightly more focus in parts. Finally, I also thought the pacing was slightly too chaotic in places. It mostly wasn’t an issue, but there were certain scenes that did need time to breath. Instead, there was a lot of chaotic character moments that got a little too much too process in parts especially when first being introduced to the Betterman’s. My final few positives would be the development to the plot, the great villains. The great character development, fun final act and satisfying ending. I really loved the development to the plot; I think it had fun twists and the movie went in a fun new direction that wasn’t limited to just one setting and therefore expanding the scope and appeal of the film. I also thought the character development was excellent. Every single one of the characters grew in the film and changed for the better. The Betterman’s realised there faults and fought to improve themselves. Grug really grew as a father. And Eep really grew as a person and learned to accept herself. The villains were a lot of fun as well. The monkeys were a really fun element to the film, with funny and creative different versions of them, and fun little details like how they communicate was great. The final act was so much fun. I loved the separate storylines and when they blended together it was excellent. It was entertaining, hilarious and really fun, with the thunder sisters definitely being one of my highlights. The film ended in a really satisfying way, the arcs for the characters were excellent and the characters were just in a really good place, it ended on a high note and I hope there is more to come. Overall, the croods 2 is a visually stunning, hilarious and creative sequel. That completely exceeded my expectations. With an extremely rare improvement over the first film. Overall score 91/100 By @ryan_the_nixon

“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar: I love not man the less, but Nature more” Lord Byron Look around you. Stop looking at your phone. Immerse yourself in the Nature. Appreciate the trilling song of winged birds, the seething voice of a crystalline creek, the soft and tender touch of emerald and racy grass, the soothing blowing of the gentle wind, the warm sunwaves and the sparkling life which unfold beyond your cold icy eyes. This is the purest form of beauty. This is Nature. A Mother and a Generatrix to us all, from the smallest western pygmy blue butterfly to the biggest Blue Whale, from the crawling snakes to the flying birds. We're all part of a big organism, part of a marvellous and rare show which has been crafted by the universe, with stardust and fire. A Muse which inspired poets, writers, composers and artists like Chopin, Beethoven, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Virgil, Van Gogh and Gaugin. They wrote about its pureness and incorruptibility, about her raging power and soft lulling. The Arts never stopped celebrating it and it still inspires them. Artists from all over the world, now more than ever, want us to remember and protect her from our selfish nature and destructive tendency. One of them is Raphael Sommer, a young Swiss composer from Basel. He chose an unconventional direction at an early age. After school he trained as a film editor and actor. But it soon became clear that his world was music. He taught himself to play the piano and became self-employed at the age of 19. "Originally, I wanted to be a film director. I started making my own films and art projects when I was 12. At the age of 14 I could attend evening classes at art school and at 15 I did an internship as a film editor. I had a lot of pressure from my teachers to get an education. Before the internship was over, I met an acting teacher and was lucky enough to be accepted into the theater school. There was a piano in every room and I fell in love with this instrument. I used every moment to teach myself improvisation. Before that I had already done the music and sound design for my own film projects. I've always had the gift of hearing music in my head and imagining it. For example, when I see a movie without music, I immediately hear the music in my head and I can start composing. The ideas jump out at me, so to speak. I then started making music more and more intensively from the age of 17-18 and founded Sommer Filmmusik when I was 19" Since then, he has been composing soundtracks for feature films, documentaries, advertising, and short films, including the successful Swiss cinema documentary Schweizer Geist (2013) by Severin Frei and Camino de Santiago by Jonas Frei, which ran in Switzerland, Germany and Austria in 2015. In 2017 Raphael went on a Swiss tour with his Requiem, a series of concerts praised by the press which called the work a door opener for sacred music. Over a thousand people attended the concerts. He has an interesting bond with music, a different point of view which helps him differ from other artists: "I didn't grow up in a musical family or have any music lessons. I sometimes don't feel like a typical musician or composer. When I meet friends who have studied film music composition and an instrument, they have a completely different energy and know-how than I do. I used to be afraid that I would never make it as a composer because everyone is so well educated. For me, music is another tool to express myself. I design a lot, I used to produce short films, now I'm currently making Glass World, I studied theater and I also like to work with my voice or body. I like to try everything as an artist and try to free myself from my fears and try everything. Composition is of course my main work. I see my studio like a workshop and have all the tools at my disposal to create a work of art. With music it's a bit of magic. I have no basis on how to create something for an orchestra or soundtrack. I can sit down, get into my inner world, listen to music and see it visually in me how I have to create the music. Today I have above all experience how I can efficiently implement something with my given time and today I know what works and what does not. But with my ability to transform an emotion inside into music, it allows me to work in many styles and genres. And in the future, as a composer, I would like to try out many genres and reinvent myself each time. I may never be a technically good composer, but I can understand and grasp a meta-level very well. What attracts me to music as an artist is that it is very intangible. Photo and videos are tangible and visual. In music, emotions and mathematics come together. On the notes, the tones are written in a certain grid or rhythm. Very mathematical. It is always astonishing that such an emotion can arise from it" An aspect which influenced the kind of music and artists which sways him: "Many Hollywood composers must impress. From Hans Zimmer, Brian Tyler, Howard Shore, Tim Burton etc. I think at the beginning of an artistic career you try to be like your idols or try to make similar tracks. But a few years ago I suddenly realized that this has no appeal at all. I want to discover myself and have my own style in music. And for me, that's only possible if I can focus on my own emotions. Of course I listen to soundtracks almost every day and try to study all the elements and mixes" And let him found his inspirations: "I've been lucky enough in my life to spend a few weeks with my favorite artist. Unfortunately, he completely destroyed himself with drugs and it was not easy for me. I had been working towards working with him for so many years. But I learned a lot from it. Today I don't look for far away or abroad as an artist. Today I am so happy when my friends inspire me, bring ideas and participate. I think many artists define themselves very much once they have proven it to themselves in public or abroad. But you have everything in yourself and in your environment. I think you look for the distance when you are far away from yourself. Of course, when I receive orders abroad, I am happy about it. Today I search much more in myself than in the outside" All of it has been relevant to build his creative process, which let him have a strong connection with music and sounds: "As mentioned earlier, I can see something and hear music. Therefore, as a self-taught musician, it was possible for me to compose music relatively quickly. There are different ways I start a soundtrack. Mostly I watch the film several times and try to empathize with the audience, which is what the film needs. Even though I usually already have an idea when I first see a rough cut, I take another few days and watch the film over and over until I decide on a possible path. Basically, if possible, I try to start the film as positively as possible so that I can increase the drama in the course of the film until the twist. Often I try to divide the film into 2 parts. The first half, in which the viewer does not yet know what the film will end and the second half, from this moment, where the viewer learns what will happen. From this point I change the soundtrack in the basic mood and instrumentation, so that the viewer knows, now something happens. And of course at the twist and the end comes the big finale. Today I try to be more careful to work more with quiet parts, so that I can still create enough tension at the end. It's often a shame if you push the film too much at the beginning, because then the film runs out of energy. Of course, the methodology differs from film genre to film genre - but my basic approach remains the same" In 2021, Raphael produced his first collaboration with actress and co-producer Olivia Lina Gasche, an experimental documentary combined with an audio book, meditation, and remix. Its is name is Glass World. "Our Glass World film and soundtrack is somewhat experimental. For years I have once again created something completely my own. With Glass World, the music drove the script and the film. In a way, I reversed the process. Basically, when we as composers get a film rough cut we give a lot of thought to the mood and musical breaks. The film is created during the pauses and spaces we give it so the viewer can think about the story. But since the rough cut already sets the tempo and story, we don't always have ideal conditions to create these spaces. That's why it's so important in film that the film editor works closely with the composer. Of course, the more professional the Productions become, the better space and importance is given to the composer. In Glass World, I reversed the principle. The music is a single space, separate from the story or documentary content. The musical parts are underlaid with short poetic texts written by Lajescha Dubler. She received a draft from me with various ideas and wrote a script from it. I wanted to achieve that the viewer can reflect himself only with poetry, music and images. The spectator is left to his own devices during this time, which is what we want to express with it. In the documentary parts, the music is greatly reduced and thus gives space to the scientific inputs" A project which involved a different approach: "I first musically captured the pandemic. Then a script was built on these tracks. Lajescha Dubler wrote a poetic script based on my ideas. On this script againrum we have supplemented the topics with scientific impressions of Dr. Mark Benecke. So we took care of the emotion first and then added the content in the right places. But I need a lot of extra help. The co-producer and actress Olivia Lina Gasche has worked with me again and again on the script so that we find the right noaces. Wally Larsen (also a composer from America) put a lot of effort into translating the moods in the film correctly into English. The result was a very inspiring work" And a lot of musicians have been vital for its realization: "I think the musicians also play a big role in the soundtrack.Glass World would never have become Glass World without violinist Malwina Sosnowski. She can make the violin sing and has enhanced the soundtrack tremendously. Jonas Gross (pan flute), Paddy Blätsch (trumpet and trombone) and Karel de Matteis (guitar) also did a amazing job" Part 1 starts with a few words Listen to the Wind. And the blowing wind is in the background. Afterwards the soundtrack kick in. It isn't invasive but it synchs perfectly with the shots in display. Water and Ice are shown in marvellous, beautiful shots. The majestic soundtrack enhance the sensation sired by the landscapes. It's a relaxing piece and a good way to start this experience. It all seems so carefully crafted, to create the perfect mix of images and music. I'm impressed. "The film should start positively and show the beauty and wonder of nature" Part 2 continues with the icy landscapes of Part 1 but gradually transition to views of rocky mountains, volcanic slopes and the sea. Water is always present, as waterfalls or, in the first act, as snow. I like the ideas of Dr. Benecke who hopes that us, as human beings, will get rid of our bad habits in order to avoid our extinction, which would be the sixth big one on our planet. The music stands in the background, as an accompaniment and it works well. The following is Part 3 where there's a shift in terms of colours and scenery. We slowly move to more green and lifeful places, like woods. There're incredible shots of roots and vegetation. More animals are showed here, while they live their quiet life in their natural habitats. Sea and cliffs are the most recurrent things (in fact it's the first shot of this part). The sun starts to be seen. We get glimpses of it, rising behind the soaring mountains. The music has a faster pace but it doesn't change its tone and it still is peaceful and relaxing. "The tracks were created during the pandemic and tried to capture the different moods. Since I knew from the beginning that the pandemic is a climate and nature problem, I tried to write the moods not isolated to the pandemic but to capture the mood in general, how we currently deal with nature. On the one hand, the miracle of nature, the man what he has achieved everything but also the destruction that goes along with it" Part 4 starts with a road, the symbol of human civilization, and then wonders through cities, workplants, landmines and everything which concern our species. Mark Beneke thoughts are about the fact that climate change has made empires and societies fall and rise. I like the idea that a simple blizzard can cripple an entire nation because, as he says, we can't do anything to change it. The music here is slightly different than the previous piece, because it's more simple and it's used only to keep our focus on the sceneries displayed in the film. Part 5 has one of the best soundtracks so far. I like how the pan-flute has been used and the gentle use of the piano. This part focuses on an abandoned building which is being reclaimed by nature. We're shown human relics of a previous life, left there to become part of mother Earth again. It's a striking contrast the one which is shown here and it's a good continuation to the previous chapter. In a way it mirrors Part 3, which is more hopeful. "Since the film is about nature, climate, humans, death and life we dedicated a chapter to death and life. Also here I combined two opposite feelings in the musical part. In the Passion, images of abandoned factories are shown but poetically deals with death and beauty of life. We see abandoned factories, but we also see nature reclaiming the factories - reflecting the cycle of life. There is also a certain beauty in that. In the documentary part, death is explained from the biologist's point of view. A biologist sees life in death. We wanted to evoke unconscious feelings and everyone should be allowed to watch the film for free. Everyone should think for themselves after the film what they want to do with this information. We wanted to create an inspiring film as apolitically as possible" Part 6 is the bleakest one. It starts with the Christian Cross, which is usually attributed to he concept of death, and then it delves into the decaying reality we're crafting ourselves. Trash all over the place. In the sea, on the beach, on trees branches. This is hard to watch and the music sets the mood perfectly. The narrator, anyway, gives us a glimpse of hope while underlining the issues in a quiet and balanced way. The music disappears, almost, because the eyes are focused on the despair displayed here. Part 7 is impressive. It starts with beautiful views of our cities nightlife and it slowly brings us to see dawn. It shows how human life can blossom and create admirable works. I like the choice to end it in a chinese cornfield which, I think, symbolizes rebirth. The music is a crescendo and the vocalizes are wonderful. Music is what makes the pictures on screen eye pleasing. "After the second half of the film, the film picks up a bit. With Comprehension and Time Eclipse we see the beauty of what humans have created. The great cities and wonders of the world, we can accomplish so much together. In the same breath, we use up all the energy, resources and destroy the world. It's nice to give all these parts their own space with the music and you as a viewer have time to just get involved" Part 8 focuses on how we treat animals. We're shown the industries where they're kept in and butchered. It's just sad to see the condition they're in. Beneke has a good point: if we want to save our world we need to start by changing our basic habits. We have to start with what we eat and what we wear. Only then we'll be able to start a revolution. The music is in the background but it's remarkable, even though it isn't on the same level as the previous tracks. The Epilogue, which is Part 9, shows us the consequences of our actions. It's hard to look at it. It's tough to accept the fact that what's on display is our rensponsability. But the project doesn't end in a dark way and in the credits we're offered what could be considered the solution to our problems: taking a step back and return to our roots, like in Africa or some places in Asia. I think that this is a clever way to end it what I consider a fantastic audiovisual experience which is both cathartic and looks like an epiphany. As always the music is on point and shows the talent of Raphael Sommer. "Glass World was generally a project in which we tried to reinterpret and try out many things. To deal artistically with all the themes. Along with the film, we created an audio book, bonus interviews, a meditation and remix, so that you can dive even deeper into these topics. There is something for everyone" A marvellous work by a talented composer who wants to show us that he's more than a simple artist, because he transcends his art and create something like that, an audiovisual masterpiece. I think that he deserves a lot of credit for what he does and that he can achieve a lot in his life. I think that you should give him, and his collaborators, a chance to surprise you, with what I consider one of the best thing I've ever experienced. Currently Glass World Film is on festival tour. The film has already been nominated several times: Hollywood Gold Awards for Best Soundtrack, Florence Film Awards for Best Original Score, Golden Sort Film Festival for Best Soundtrack & Documentary, New York International Film Awards for Best Nature Film and at ISAFF Film Festival for Best Soundtrack. Many more festivals are pending. And, when asked about his future, he has clear goals: "I look forward to every new feature film or live concert that I am allowed to compose. Great conversations and personal exchanges with directors and musicians. Inner satisfaction and health. I no longer plan too far out. For me, the fun and great collaboration on a project is in the foreground" As well as a plan to build a lasting career: "We have a few more things planned this year with Glass World Project and would like to publish my first e-books. In September I start my new soundtrack for a feature film. I'm really looking forward to this project, because this film is very quiet and contains a very subtle meta-level. Next year I may write a new classical concerto on commission and at the end of 2022 we have our live orchestra "Dimension" tour with conductor Florian Kirchhofer. We had to postpone our tour during the pandemic. By the way, I have learned a lot from conductor Florian Kirchhofer. He has encouraged me very much and would like to express many thanks here" By @the_owlseyes

Reviews by: @cine.whispers “What if I were smiling, and running into your arms? Would you see then, what I see now?” Into the wild is an inspirational journey about escape from substantial life and achieving what the film calls absolute freedom and the search of happiness as we follow a young man desperate for escape from his fractured family and the material that he believes has blinded him from the truth, freeing himself from these restraints to seek the truth of his existence. The film is filled with poems that are as thought provoking as they are inspirational, explorations and portraits of the philosophical side of life and ‘the simple beauty’ of it. Chris seems to be inspired through these poems and continues his journey in hope of observing and practicing the qualities expressed in the literature, in search of spiritual fulfillment, all while experiencing the joy his newfound freedom has brought him. He meets people along the way and shares brief moments of joy with these people before saying goodbye and continuing the journey towards his goal: Alaska. What I love about this film is that it doesn’t represent these fancy poems and moments without any growth in character aside from that in the audience, only aiming on the audience to feel this emotion through affecting literature and heartfelt dialogue. No, it’s character development is quite impactful, matching the “from want to need” type of character arc where after spending most of the screen time searching for what he thinks he wants, comes to the realization of what he NEEDS. He spent most of the time saying goodbye, not realizing the true happiness comes in the moments he shared with the people that he had bid farewell to. In the beginning his only goal was to go to Alaska in search of happiness for himself, but in the end realizes what he really needs and want are the people he met along the way, and the family he left behind in search of something he never knew he had all along. Into the wild is by no means a perfect film and is certainly not one to be ranked upon the greatest films ever made, but its philosophical value makes it easy to become one’s personal favorite. The films direction, cinematography, writing and acting all sum together amazingly to create this breathtaking picture that is beautiful and profound both spiritually and visually. Its narrative may be confusing and messy at times, but the overall experience is so affecting and deep the flaws are to be forgiven. In the end it leaves such aftertaste that guarantees a revisit ton the sheer beauty of each moment the film offers. It is as if we have taken this profound journey with him, and is maybe why we shed tears when he does. By @cine.whispers

Reviews by: @the_owlseyes @infinitefilmreview @moviereviewswithben @cine.whispers @cinemaa.wiz @film_buff_42 @vreviews @thefilmobservatory @matts_moviez @ryan_the_nixon @theplokoonyreview @dylanandhismovies @starwarsd1 “We all long for Eden, and we are constantly glimpsing it: our whole nature at its best and least corrupted, its gentlest and most human, is still soaked with the sense of exile.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Movies could be meta when it's done well. Obviously it doesn't have to be the only characteristic of a product, because it could also be the downfall of it. Here we have a movie which has been made to redeem the image of a concept which include characters in search pf a redemption. The feat is hard because it's hard to make people forget about the past, especially if the past is named Suicide Squad and it has one of the worst Joker in it. Warner Bros has struggled to change the perception of his movies and is trying everything to distance itself from its crap, past and present. This is why they asked James Gunn, the mind behind Guardians of The Galaxy, to do a soft reboot of Suicide Squad. The interesting thing is that he used this movie to return in Disney's grace, after his cul-de-sac due to a weird and despicable history of tweets. He was also on a road to redemption. This is why Disney rehired right away (also because he's too profitable to waste). This movie tells the story of different people who redeemed themselves, a tale which goes beyond the silver screen. PLOT "Supervillains Harley Quinn, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and a collection of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X as they are dropped off at the remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese" or "DC tries to be like Marvel". SCRIPT Unfortunately this is where the movie falls short. A great first and second act, made of characters development and worldbuilding are almost destroyed by a mindless, cgi bloated and messy finale. Sure, most character archs are resolved but some choices doesn't make sense, especially the one regarding Peacemaker. I like a lot the fact that the first movie's segmet is used to show us what are the stakes and to distance itself from its previous iteration by (almost killing) all the characters which were present in the first (failing) one. It's used to show us that this movie is on another level and it works, because it is. I like the cgi villain motivation but I find the human villain a bit of a clichè, especially the Tinker. The themes, which are imperialism, self confidence, friendship, responsability, sacrifice and family are used almost without flaws. I just find the imperialism theme the best aspect of this movie, because it isn't just used to show the American way but also to accuse our species apathetic approach to the unknown. Amanda Waller is the worst character because he doesn't have a motivation for being an angry black woman, which is a racial clichè. This movie has also another weird problem. Even though it's mostly entertaining, the pace is a bit off putting to the point that this movie drags a lot. I'm disappointed because I've expected more from a James Gunn's movie. Overall this is a pretty mediocre script with good moments and a bad finale. The scene post credit and the type of humour make it a Marvel-ish movie and it's not good for me. Script: 6/10 ACTING Well, at first it's below mediocre and it's kept up by Margot Robbie. But then, after all the characters are introduced properly, the movie ascends in terms of acting quality. Well, not all the actors deliver a good performance, and I think that out of them all, Daniela Melchior is the weakest one. The best players here are Idris Elba, David Dstmalchian and Margot Robbie. I think that they're able to deliver an ample range of emotions and I think that they are perfectly casted, especially Margot Robbie. Unfortunately there're a lot of actors, besides the core's ones, which are pretty underwhelming. Overall is good but not good enough to say that it's impressive. Acting: 7/10 PHOTOGRAPHY This is the best aspect of this movie. Vibrant, meaningful colours and an interesting use of light make this flick a delight for the eyes. The point is...that it doesn't feel like a DC movie. It's good but it makes this movie like a Marvel product. This dichotomy creates a weird sense of uneasiness, because all of it has been already done and is usually used by someone else. Seems like DC is trying to get itself out of the hole by copycatting the Marvel formula, which is completely different and defines the MCU, I can say that it's one of pillars. It's hard to give complete credit to a movie which uses a technique which is characteristic of a whole cinematic universe. Nonetheless is competent. Photography: 7/10 EDITING I like a lot the editing of this movie, but I find the Slow Motions scenes a bit corny and redundant. Gunn entertains us with multiple kind of shooting techniques, which elevates this movie from a standard superhero flick to an almost awesome movie. I like how the director uses the editing to make scenes more dramatic or comedic depending on the context. Well done. Editing: 7/10 SPECIAL EFFECTS The CGI isn't the best I've ever seen but the VFX are well done, especially the one about Thinker and Mongal. Sure, the CGi works well sometimes but it isn't as competent as this movie's budget would make you think. I like the decision to substitute blood with a flowery stream in a scene, because it makes a good female empowering scene. Overall is barely over mediocre but not enough to say that's good(always considering the budget). Special Effects: 6/10 SOUNDTRACK It's good, even though it isn't original anymore. This is Gunn who tries to rehash a winning formula which was applied to a far superior Marvel movie. I like the choice to blend pop music, carefully chosen, and instrumental to create a movie which is a delight for your ears. It isn't a memorable soundtrack but it works. I've just expected more from a DC movie. Usually they have the best soundtracks. Times are changin'. Soundtrack: 7/10 COSTUMES I like Bloodsport, Harley and Polka-Dot Man costumes. I find them original and memorable. Peacemaker and Ratcatcher have mediocre suits but they fit the characters. I think that overall this movie offer good and coherent costumes, which help us differentiate every character. I like the fact that they don't wear their costumes for the movie's entirety, to make their perdonality more dynamic and adaptable. It's done also for the plot and to respect the source material. Costumes: 7/10 CONCLUSION Script: 6/10 Acting: 7/10 Photography: 7/10 Editing: 7/10 Special Effects: 6/10 Soundtrack: 7/10 Costumes: 7/10 AVERAGE: 6,71 An enjoyable movie which is just a reharshing of another franchise. Even though it has a lot of flaws, it's good and it can let you have a great time. Watch it to appreciate one of the best movie of the DCEU and appreciate Gunn's style. By @the_owlseyes James Gunn's The Suicide Squad was a blast to watch. I call it justice from what David Ayer gave us, I watched The Suicide Squad then yesterday I watched Ayer's Suicide Squad. Both of them have good stories, plots and character's. A new team of Task Force X is recruited with new member's. Amanda Waller sends this team to the island of Corto Maltese for another suicide mission, the team's objective is to destroy a project called Starfish and save the world. This movie had a way better story then Ayer's. Ayer's Suicide Squad is simply a team of villain's, not heroes, that come together to face off a bigger villain than them combined. Gunn's version gives us more character background, the character's that are more important and a story that, to me, has more layer's of what mainly a suicide squad film treatment should have. For this film your given the same energy and excitement. When you watch a new superhero film you start watching it's trailer's and the hype come's from when you see costumes, characters and cast, this film doubled that energy with it's costumes, character's and cast. We got excited seeing that Gunn did a way better King Shark then what Ayer did with Killer Croc. Character's were so much better then the last Suicide Squad. Team was bigger, better and well casted, King Shark was really well done as they gave his backstory better than what was told with Killer Croc. Reading some comic strips online has shown me that treatment in look's on this character were accurately made and a bit cute looking, Sylvester Stallone did an incredible voice performance. Speech and dialogue we're too campy and very little, yet it made this character such a good and hilarious version. John Cena playing as Peacemaker really surprised me with his performance. I'll honestly say the performance made me actually want to watch his spin-off TV show by HBO Max, when I learned Cena was playing anything related to comic's I wasn't hyped of his casting but like I said his performance was well done. Jai Courtney really amped up his Captain Boomerang as well. he got so much better with his voice I felt I was watching the animated and comic counterpart's of Captain Boomerang, his Australian accent was stronger as well as his characteristic's from the comic's were brought to life. As far as what's been said of Margot Robbie's Performance in this film I'll say it's true. Robbie has really been doing an outstanding work playing Harley Quinn, in this film she made the Harley fans of the comic's come to know and love. Viewer's of her last two performances know that she was already doing this with her performance the voice has been done so well even how she does the crazy and unpredictable side of Harley. Idris Elba's Performance as Bloodsport was really well done as well. His character's background was almost the same as Deadshot's when Bloodsport was recruited his daughter was used, anyway Alba put some good performance showing the struggles Bloodsport was going through and had the characteristic's of Bloodsport were shown differently by Elba. This film definitely had better comedy then Ayer's film as I didn't really find any part of it funny. Not that a film based on a comic especially when it comes to DC always need's comedy, I still found this as an element needed and was well performed for this film to be the fun it was to watch. Score and soundtrack were well done and fitted this film. Maybe I wasn't paying attention but this film had holes for character theme's needed, as character's that have returned needed a theme. Though this film was so well done and gave the biggest justice to The Suicide Squad comics, this film has holes and I'll be covering It all in my Spoiler review. 9.5/10 By @infinitefilmreview Hovering somewhere between a sequel and a soft reboot, This movie is a huge improvement over its 2016 counterpart. Gratuitously violent, vulgar, funny and most importantly, a ton of fun - This is exactly what a Suicide Squad movie should be. I hated the first movie. Of the 100 movies I watched in 2016, it ranked 96th. With James Gunn taking the reigns, and news that this one was going for a hard R rating, I was intrigued. I knew it couldn’t be worse, but how much better could it be? Well, a full six and a half point score difference should tell you exactly how much better it is. I love that this movie never takes itself too seriously. Yes, the stakes are high, but this is a ridiculous movie full of ridiculous characters, and Gunn never forgets it. That’s not to say this movie doesn’t have a few serious moments - it’s actually got a lot of heart. This is a character focused movie, and they’re all written surprisingly well. The mere fact that I could get emotionally attached to a CGI shark voiced by Sylvester Stallone speaks volumes about how well rounded the characters are. I expected Margot Robbie to steal the show again, but Harley Quinn never overshadows the others. I loved some of the new characters like Ratcatcher and Bloodsport, and everyone got a deserving amount of screen time. This movie is really funny, but there’s also a lot of humour that simply doesn’t land. There are plenty of jokes that had me rolling my eyes, including a running visual gag involving Polkadot Man. Thankfully, the humour that does work is hilarious and makes up for the duds. The comedy is immature at times, but it pairs perfectly with the tone of the movie. Visually, this movie is a real treat. The creative and colourful character design looks like it was torn straight from the pages of a comic book, which is the highest compliment I can give a movie based on one. The special effects are also top notch, which gives the movie a true summer blockbuster feel. This is one of the best movies of the summer, and in my opinion, the best movie in the DCEU. Go see this on the big screen if you can. It’s well worth the price of admission. 8.5/10 By @moviereviewswithben The DCEU has ben a rollercoaster ride of successes and tragedies. Can their latest outing, James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad save the DCEU from its bad reputation? Can James Gunn bring to DC what he brought to the MCU? No one makes superhero films like James Gunn. It’s been a long time since a DCEU film I liked was released, even the highly praised Shazam and Birds of Prey were quite disappointing to me. But with the suicide squad Gunn brings his unique energy to the films screenplay and style, and the result is what I think superhero films should be – creative, bold, and its very own thing. Its obvious that in this film WB allows the director to take full control of the film, you can see it in the amount of gore and playful decisions made throughout the film, especially an opening sequence that is further proof of zero studio interference. The films narrative style is so distinct among superhero films that it could even be called experimental. Yet it is thanks to Gunn’s brilliant screenplay that all this doesn’t end up a mess, instead it’s a film that juggles effortlessly between heart and humor, with fresh and unique character lore that is aided by Gunn’s direction and the charisma of their actors. Despite its large scale and big team up, it feels grounded, not something so wild it is swirling out of control. Gunn manages to make every single character special and unforgettable in its own way, while the actors gave soul to their characters and it is to say that none of them disappoints, all perfect casting for their roles. Now let’s talk about the fact that this film is R rated. The greatest thing about its rating is that Gunn gets to have full freedom of how he wants to represent the action, and now I am convinced that all superhero films should be R rated (don’t quote me on it though). The films hyper-violence is exactly what makes the film so entertaining and gritty, which also fits the tone of its source material, and thus it feels like a graphic novel come to life. The violence is emphasized to maximum effect thanks to the playful camera moves that drops you in the middle of the action, crafting an experience that is immersive and compelling in every aspect. The violence also helps underline the humor and some clever mis directions made in the film. Amid the action, gore, and the exhilarating fashion of the film, is the sincere emotion that finds its way through the relentless thread of fun, never pretentious, or cheesy. Every moment represents the humanity and inhumanity behind every character, and the core of the suicide squad. The suicide squad, overall just a disposable weapon used to achieve political goals, but the humanity of each character makes their actions all the more relatable, and their motivations more than just the mission they were assigned to. All this is magnified by the inimitable and uncompromising style of the film. Thus, the film, unlike most other superhero films, doesn’t feel as if its run by a machine, rather, a film that is run by passionate people, that every actor, cast and crew worked on the film with irreplaceable passion, and I believe that is the key to making a good superhero film, and is the closest to cinema a superhero movie will ever get. This, is what all blockbusters should be : vibrant, and alive. Films with soul. Now to the flaws. Some themes aren’t coherent, brought up at one point but never further explored, making the audience wonder why they even bothered bringing it up in the first place. At times, the tonal balance between comedy and drama isn’t tackled so well, making audiences confused whether they should think or laugh. True, the mash up of comedy and drama is what makes this film special, but if it could strike a more consistent tone, it would be easier to follow the rhythm of the film. Also, some may complain that a few characters feel wasted or cliched, especially Viola Davis’ character, but I think if the film tried too hard to develop and craft all its characters at the same time, it would turn out exactly like the tragedy of 2016’s Suicide Squad. In conclusion, this is a film that is best to watch at a theatre with a big audience, laughing at every joke, cheering at every kill, and if there’s anything James Gunn proved, it’s that he’s both a master and a savior of the genre. While Marvel spent the last couple of years filling its films with repetitive superhero tropes, the suicide squad twists them on its own head so cleverly the result is a game changing superhero film like no other before it and let’s hope like every single one after it. By @cine.whispers The Biggest plus point of this movie is its R rating, this movie wouldn't have been even remotely good if it didn't have the Darkness it possessed (And I am talking about thematic darkness otherwise it was quite bright). The movie really feels like a James Gunn movie and it really feels like he was given complete liberty over the movie. From humor to the music to violence everything is quite creative and Gunn-esque (If thats a word). The movie got every type of violence that can be characterized as Fun, it is unapologetic and brutal but it never leaves the fun bubble Gunn had created. The characters are fleshed out even if they aren't fleshed out they are still used in a very appropriate way... the jokes are all well written, mostly adult but handled pretty well, that don't really bother you that much, a shoutout to the whole "No more Toxic Boyfriends" scene of Harley, that was like Peak Humor in this movie, hints toward the arc of Harley in a perfect way. This is like the first time I personally gave a damn about Harley Quinn's character and To be honest this was Peak Harley Right there while everyone else nail there roles as well.... (I'll call them by there character names cause I don't know some of the actor's names and I am too lazy to google rn) Idris Alba as Bloodsport was really great to witness, even after being a supervillain, Idris brings this righteousness in his character and although you know he is a villain you still care for him alot.... John Cena as Peacemaker in the starting felt like some robot, with no expressions but gradually as the time passed he kind of grew on me.... King Shark was quite fun to witness and although they really could've done this movie without the character but still He was really a fun addition... lastly Ratcatcher 2 and Polka Dot Man, I loved both of them insanely. Ratcatcher 2 being Millennial for like most of the time was cool and the Sadness of Polka Dot Man really added to humor of the movie. And Although this movie had fair share of Comedic layers, it doesn't really disappoint in Emotional sector, be it Ratcatcher or Bloodsport's Daughter the Emotional Quotient in this movie is well balanced. The music of the movie is very well done and every song used was well placed. Every song served a purpose and was used efficiently. The Action was well choreographed.. the very first death told us this movie is not gonna joke around, I mean it does joke around but I mean this in case of deaths, nobody is safe, like that... Shoutout to Pete Davidson, you will be missed Chad and a huge shoutout to Quinn using Javelin, I mean that might be my favorite gender from now on. The Negatives, Like RICK FLAG, I didn't care about him at all, sure he got a few good scenes but he felt like the worst characterof the movie, a place where a few of them didn't even have a backstory, rick flag felt underused, maybe underdeveloped as well, his final fight was tiring af tho. the editing at few places was sloppy, some scenes really felt like dragged and they really couldve made the scenes more effective if the scenes were trimmed a bit, especially in the third act, Lastly the trope of taking them back in time, like "8 minutes back" felt ok at first but towards the end felt like they could've presented it better than that. Overall The Suicide Squad is really well made DCEU movie and just like Gunn left his Mark on Marvel he successfully leaves his mark on DC. The Suicide Squad is Unapologetically Violent Fun Ride that shows you what DC characters really can do. 9/10 THE REDEMPTION OF HARLEY QUINN Let me be clear, The Suicide Squad was the first time, I resonated with the character of Harley Quinn and although I can say Margot has been brilliant as Quinn and despite having two previous appearances of the character, this is the first one that gets the character right. First one sexualized the character alot, presented her as an Object and that was evident, second one presented Harley as a character rather than an Object, Desexualize the character and that's a good thing right? yes! but it takes Harley to Feministic road, Harley is not a Feministic Ideal and Birds of Prey really tries to make her the character she is not, yes its fun to witness but that's not Harley. Now, Gunn brings Harley to the suicide squad and lets her be there, doesn't force anything on her, doesn't turn her into any kind of agenda and lets the character free, And that right there makes the portrayal perfect, she isn't an Object and she isnt any flag bearer and thats what makes her great, she just wants to have fun... Let her have fun and you have the perfect portrayal of the character. By @cinemaa.wiz The Suicide Squad opens in a prison, and immediately sets up the plot - a team of anti-heroes with bombs in their heads going on missions for the government - and within 5 minutes the audience is squarely in the middle of an absolute bloodbath. And what a fun bloodbath it is. The opening alone is some of the most fun I've had at the movies in a long time. Characters we were just introduced to get littered with bullets, because, in The Suicide Squad, no one is safe. There's a genuine sense of tension throughout the movie, as it really feels like anyone could die at any time. Deaths are often played for laughs, but when the more serious ones kick in, they actually land emotionally, which is no small feat considering the large ensemble cast. Tension and unpredictability are some of the biggest strengths of the movie, keeping it fresh and engaging, especially in comparison to recent Marvel movies. There's truly nothing else like this, and for that reason alone I loved it. I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about the action scenes. They were really well done, and packed to the brim with gore. The Suicide Squad takes full advantage of an R rating, with people getting torn in half, blown up, stabbed, eaten, shot, crushed by a giant starfish, and more. I mentioned unpredictability before, and that definitely extends to the action scenes. I can guarantee that you've never seen people die like this. Holistically, the action is really well staged, with excellent choreography. Luckily, that excellence extends to the cinematography. There's no quick cuts or shakey can here, but rather a ton of long, wide shots, which ensure there's always clarity to the action on screen. Geography is well established, as you can tell exactly who's getting shot, and precisely where they are. This is the polar opposite of something like The First Purge, where they basically said "Well, we have shots of people shooting, and shots of people falling. Let's add some blood in post and call it a day." I'd argue that establishing geography (where people are, what the environment is like, etc) is key to a good action scene, and The Suicide Squad does a great job at establishing this. The editing here is also sublime, with great rhythm and an understanding of when to focus more on character beats or dialogue versus the action at large. As an action movie, The Suicide Squad fires on all cylinders - it's creative, colorful, and comical, all without sacrificing clarity or geography. The cinematography in general here is gorgeous - it's got a ton of creative shots, dynamic camera movement, and it just works really well stylistically. The story here is decent. It follows 2 squads invading an island as they attempt to get information on Project Starfish on behalf of the U.S. government. One squad gets (mostly) massacred in the opening, and the surviving members are captured. From there, the second group has to rescue the captured members and try and break into the facility with the necessary information. In and of itself, it's a fairly standard macguffin plot line, but it's bolstered by a non-linear structure and some really solid characters. Expanding on the structure, the movie has a ton of flashbacks to various points, including a pretty memorable one to "8 minutes ago." Since there are 2 teams for the majority of the movie, it uses the dual narrative (and resulting flashbacks) to keep things interesting for the viewer. Another thing of note here is the creative text throughout the movie. From the opening credits being spelled out in blood from an exploded head, to "Mission: Starfish" being smelled out in smoke from an exploded vehicle, there was clearly a lot of effort into making everything engaging, down to the text. None of this would work without characters to care about, and The Suicide Squad does an excellent job briskly establishing characters while still giving them depth and purpose. You can actually understand the motivations for a lot of these characters, and especially for a large ensemble piece, that's pretty insane. Everyone gets some development, and I wound up being genuinely invested in a lot of them. I got sad when certain characters died, and a bit stressed out when I thought some of my favorites might bite the dust. There were a fair few standout characters for me. Ratcatcher 2 was probably my favorite, bringing emotional weight to the film in a fantastic performance by Daniela Melchior. She was funny, oddly relatable, because she was always tired, and overall really fun to watch. King Shark was also an absolute joy, bringing a lot of the humor, despite limited dialogue. Polka Dot Man was great as well, and he provided my favorite joke (a certain sight gag near the end) in the whole film. His deadpan delivery and care towards the minor characters really made him likeable, even if his powers were simply bizarre. I can't commend James Gunn's script here enough - it was insanely efficient in setting up plot and developing the characters, hilarious, surprising, and it did a fantastic job balancing the myriad of character beats. Overall, The Suicide Squad was probably the most fun I've had in a movie theater in a long time. It was gory, darkly comedic, emotionally investing, beautiful to look at, and overall just an absolute blast. The script and directing were pretty remarkable, balancing the legion of characters really well, while still keeping everything tense and surprising. This is undoubtedly one of the best movies of the year, and I can't wait to watch it again. By @film_buff_42 8/10 ★ James Gunn's new DC project brings hope to the a repetitive movie genre. Plot: Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) is back again as head of the Suicide Squad in a new mission. This time, she reunites a whole bunch of criminals under Colonel Rick Flag's (Joel Kinnaman) watch, in order to break down a scientific project. Overall opinion: I would say that this movie figures among the best films of the DC Cinematic Universe. Most critics and audiences have praised James Gunn's work and I couldn't agree more. The film feels refreshing in a movie genre that needs new formulas. It's no news that some of the last superhero movies haven't been remarkable, because they don't bring anything new. And even though we still have "good guys" versus "bad guys" here, this film goes so much deeper than that. I think it redefines what does it mean to be a hero, just like one of the characters shouts by the end of the film. Can you become a hero even if you have done horrible things? I think this films gives a clear answer to such a question. I think that one of the strongest points of the film is definitely the R rating; I've read somewhere that some people felt some influence from "The Boys" TV Show and I agree. I had that feeling when watching the movie, mostly because of his satirical tone. Characters and Performances: Most of the characters were actually amazing. My favorite was undoubtedly Peacemaker; I think he mixes very different elements to build some sort of anti-hero. You get to hate him because of his actions and I loved that. I was surprised by John Cena's performance and I'm really hoping to see him in future projects. Another character that I fell in love with was Amanda Waller, played by the amazing Viola Davis. We had the opportunity to meet her in the 2016's movie, but I think she really gets to shine in this film. Despite the fact that she doesn't have much time on screen, her scenes were enough for me to absolutely love her evil side. She was so much more severe this time, demonstrating she was willing to do literally anything in order to reach her goals. Apart from them, there's King Shark's issue, who's voiced by Sylvester Stallone. At first, I was very doubtful regarding Gunn's version of the character from what I saw on the trailers. I mean, this character is supposed to be scary and I wasn't sure that this new "dumb" personality was going to work out. I'm glad I was wrong. I absolutely loved every single one of his scenes; it's so hard not to love him since he so damn adorable. And the best part: he's still strong and voracious. Now, what I didn't precisely liked about the film... The first team. My problem is not the team per-se or even their fate, my problem's rather related to their time on screen. I get that they were made to introduce the tone of the film, but there were some good actors and I would've to see a little bit more of them. Finally, I recall Starro's last words: "I was happy floating, staring at the stars". That little scene really hit me, because I saw the pain in Cleo's eyes. It was a fucked up situation, because they were doing their job, but it's always the same when humans intervene: killing and destruction. In summary, we really need more Gunn's projects in DC and if Warner Bros want to keep the universe alive, they should start looking at him. Year: 2021 Director: James Gunn Script: James Gunn Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy Cast: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, John Cena, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Viola Davis, Sean Gunn, Jai Courtney, Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion, Pete Davidson, Peter Capaldi, Flula Borg, Alice Braga, Joaquin Cosio, Mayling Ng, Storm Reid, Taika Waititi Runtime: 2h 12 min Qualification: 8/10 By @vreviews 4/5 Action-Comedy/Comic-Book Movie The ruthless Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) assembles her new team of supervillains to deal with the dictator of Corto Maltese, a small and fictional, yet incredibly dangerous, island off the coast of South America. MINOR-MODERATE SPOILER WARNING In 2016, David Ayer’s Suicide Squad was released, and it was frankly a colossal mess. After the underperformance of Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the success of Deadpool, heavy studio interference led to a major voice on the direction and execution of the film being the company that had worked on the teaser, Trailer Park, leaving the film as a horrible Frankenstein(‘s monster) of overused licensed music, unnatural transitions and cuts, uninteresting and underdeveloped characters, and awkward pacing. While Ayer has repeatedly said that this wasn’t the film he’d intended to make, it was unfortunately the one that the audience got. Practically the only good thing about the film was Margot Robbie’s performance as Harley Quinn, and she reprises her role in James Gunn’s follow-up/rebrand, so the 2016 film has nothing good that this new artfully violent and raw experience, from Gunn, hasn’t brought us. To summarise this paragraph, this particular franchise can evidently be something great, when it’s in the right hands: unless you’re a naïve DCEU completist like me, just skip the 2016 film. So, time to talk The Suicide Squad (note the freshly definitive article)! James Gunn has always been a stylistically defined director, and this was the perfect film for him to be assigned to; he had the opportunity to unleash all of his idiosyncratic creativity, with the irreverent character interactions, graphic and sensationalised violence, and often macabre sense of humour. The Suicide Squad is outrageously entertaining, and there wasn’t a single point where I was bored. One of the best aspects of this film is that it feels like the most comic-accurate adaptation that I have ever seen. From the distinctive visuals to the absurd powers and villains put onscreen, The Suicide Squad feels faithful to the medium of its source material. Comic books can be cheesy, and possess stories and logic that are ridiculous, and Gunn fantastically transfers these things to the big screen, while infusing them with ultraviolence, and relevant political undertones. So, who are the members of Amanda Waller’s motley crew? US government agent Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) is once again heading up the team, in the actual front lines, and he has a lot more to do here. Kinnaman is allowed the chance to be more charismatic in this movie, and he thrives in his role as a leader who genuinely cares about his eccentric (to put it one way) subordinates. Waller herself is driven by a great turn from Davis, as she becomes even colder and more conniving than in her appearance in the 2016 film. By the end, it interestingly feels as if Amanda Waller is the real antagonist of the film, with her shocking disregard for life at the expense of the mission. Margot Robbie is at her best as Harley Quinn here; she’s perfected the nuances of the character and has completely escaped the shadow of her toxic ex-boyfriend, who you just might’ve heard of before. The Suicide Squad uses what Robbie was already nailing about the character, but it sheds the PG-13 barrier that often relegated her unhinged insanity to comic relief, and Harley’s playful unpredictability and violent tendencies come to light here. One of my favourite scenes in the film comes around halfway, in an exceptionally violent sequence with Harley, that began to display flowers almost as a replacement for blood. (Note for those that have seen the film: Margot Robbie apparently, and if so, impressively, did that trick with the key herself!) It was all so inventively choreographed, and gave a clever insight into her twisted mind. Idris Elba exceeded my expectations, and was great as Bloodsport, the main anchor of the team, other than Flag. While his ability to turn anything into a weapon sounded derivative and quite familiar (cough cough, Bullseye from Daredevil, cough cough), Elba was a standout, and surprisingly a driving emotional force in this film. Not that that emotion is the priority or main focus in The Suicide Squad, however, it’s nice to have some background and eventual character development for a central staple of the team. Bloodsport’s history of putting Superman in the ICU with a Kryptonite bullet also feels like a cheeky one-up on Will Smith’s Deadshot from the 2016 film, who was a decent character but is ultimately a less interesting version of Elba’s new mercenary. Elba’s Bloodsport shares an entertaining back and forth with fellow team member Peacemaker (John Cena), a morally perverse version of Captain America, who claims to “cherish” liberty but doesn’t care “how many men, women and children” he ‘has’ to kill to achieve it. The irony is largely played for laughs, but it also serves as sharp social commentary on major, powerful governments like the US, and the extremes that they go to, in the name of ‘defending their country’ and ‘protecting their people’. I’ve never understood why studios seem to love Cena but he’s actually pretty good in The Suicide Squad, particularly in a dark confrontation towards the end. Other standouts are the shy and sympathetic Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior), and the downbeat social outcast Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), not to mention the MVP himself – King Shark (Sylvester Stallone, voice). The latter is none other than a walking, talking shark, in stretched, Hulk-like shorts. These characters are perfect case studies of why The Suicide Squad works. Gunn completely leans into the wacky campiness of the comics but maintains the heart by crafting these kinds of outlandish characters that show relatable human weaknesses and emotions. Despite it being the Portuguese actor’s first major studio role, Melchior is fantastic and brings a lot of the heart, through her pleasantly surprising familial-like dynamic with Bloodsport, and her sympathy for and friendship with King Shark. She brings a unique, charming energy that helps hold the team and tonal balance together. Like in Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, we get to see the members of the squad becoming an unconventionally kind-hearted family. The theme of ‘family’ never becomes saccharine or on the nose, like a certain other 2021 summer release (cough cough Black Widow cough cough), it’s rather that Gunn balances the comedy and absurdity with the humanity very effectively, making the characters ones that we actually like and want to follow. Dastmalchian has shown himself to be a talented performer in the past, and that’s continued here. His superpower is so ridiculous that it’s a commendable miracle that Gunn makes it work, coherently and visually. The character has possibly the weirdest and most psychopathic personality out of the bunch but this is so subtly played by Dastmalchian that we even genuinely root for him. However, King Shark stole the show for me. The concept is as simple as it sounds, and he fits brilliantly into the team. With practically the mind of a young child exploring the world, I can’t stress enough how immensely lovable he is, despite his bursts of innocent ultraviolence. The fact that Gunn gets the audience to view an anthropomorphic shark as they would a new-born puppy is especially impressive. I suppose you could say that Gunn makes good use of fish out of water comedy… did that one land? I think it was pretty solid. Narratively, The Suicide Squad is simple and effective. The explosive opening scene sets the tone effectively, with the eccentric personalities and superpowers, extreme language and violence, and actually tactfully placed licensed music. It gives a nice taste of the type of zany comedy in this film, and I especially lost my s*** at Nathan Fillion’s character, and Margot Robbie’s onscreen reaction. All of the characters share great synergy, and the interactions are always a lot of fun. The Suicide Squad does have a fantastic ensemble cast, and it was a lot of fun to see actors like Peter Capaldi and Taika Waititi show up, despite them in particular being underused in the film. As the story progresses, it works well to flesh out some of the characters, and the film tackles its ensemble of characters in a slightly different method to usual. I’ve heard people comment on how it feels as if it’s structured like a comic book, and those people aren’t exactly wrong. With flashy title cards and some characters spinning off into different narrative directions, The Suicide Squad seems heavily inspired by the way that comic books and their arcs flow. This doesn’t completely translate to the big screen and some pacing is inconsistent, but this is easy to ignore when all of the scenes are so much fun. It does have some solid political messaging too, regarding the lengths to which a government will go for self-preservation, and what actually makes it unjust and immoral. However, this never becomes heavy-handed in its handling and The Suicide Squad fully maintains its exciting, electric energy. The second act is where The Suicide Squad lingers a bit to give its characters some depth, and this is where the jokes are especially prominent in the film, when I look back to what was memorable about that section. Most of them land, and I did find myself audibly laughing in the cinema. Fortunately, none of them feel distasteful, so they’re always somewhere in between hilarious and ‘meh’. There’s quite a lot of self-aware humour in the film, as it commits illogical plot points that are cliches and then immediately light-heartedly criticises them. (A good example is the “Milton” gag, for anybody who’s seen the movie.) The third act is dominated by the final battle and is brilliant at utilising the Chekhov’s Gun Theory, which states that if a gun is introduced in Act 1, it should be fired by the end of Act 3. The last act of The Suicide Squad is an array of so many different concepts and character moments paying off, and it’s incredibly satisfying. Whether it’s Polka-Dot Man achieving self-validation at long last, or King Shark finally getting to go “nom-nom”, Gunn forgets practically no prior detail, and all are eventually revealed to possess importance. This demonstrates Gunn’s methodical focus and thinking, and the commendable level of attentive craftsmanship on display here, overall. Unexpectedly, The Suicide Squad shows off some very strong visuals. The vividity of the colours bursts onto the screen but isn’t overwhelming. I thought that that Halloween episode of WandaVision was as comic-accurate as superhero/supervillain costuming could get before becoming solely distracting, however, this film is on another level. Gunn is one of the few filmmakers who could have pulled off the visuals here, and they absolutely stand out. They wisely mark a different tone and style to the original, which was trying to be visually grey and gritty. However, The Suicide Squad shows the realisation of Gunn and co that dark saturation doesn’t mesh with such a ridiculous and cheesy comic-book franchise. In this way, The Suicide Squad is bold, and it functions exceptionally well in the movie. The cinematography and camerawork was above average – the cast and crew are evidently not amateurs – but these aspects don’t seem overly pretentious or annoying, they just complement the film well, and enhance the visual storytelling. I’m not sure how necessary all of the licensed music was, but it mostly works effectively with each scene. I liked the use of Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ to open the film, in particular. The score assisted the atmosphere and was a lot of fun. There’s nothing ground-breaking in these departments but they’re executed well and add to how entertaining The Suicide Squad ultimately is. Overall, The Suicide Squad is a blast and one of my favourite DC films. It’s fast, funny, and fresh, and there aren’t any blatant missteps. I think that James Gunn was the perfect fit to adapt the source material, and Marvel clearly made a financial blunder in firing him. His offensive comments on Twitter were obviously unacceptable, however I won’t go down that rabbit-hole, since this is just a film review. I recommend it specifically to those interested in an antihero comic-book movie with an outrageous sense of humour, as long as the viewers can stomach the extreme gore and violence. By @thefilmobservatory The only thing the newest iteration of the Suicide Squad had to do was be better than the original, which isn't an impossible feat. But what I genuinely didn't expect was how great this film would be! This is everything and more I wanted from the original film. The cast, the color palette, the visual effects! They were all there! It was the first time, in a long time, that I anticipated a DCEU film and wasn't let down. And the way Marvel is going these days, I think it's safe to say that my money is going towards the DCEU. James Gunn At the Mantle I think we can all agree that what The Suicide Squad needed to be successful was strong direction and writing, and James Gunn supplies both in plentiful amounts! Gunn was born to bring niche characters to the screen, and he does it again with The Suicide Squad. I couldn't believe how wrapped up I was in these supervillains' lives. It was a complete turnaround from the travesty that was the original Suicide Squad's characters. Gunn did everything he could to make this a lovable adventure, and I couldn't thank him enough for it. Harley Quinn This time around, I really think that this film got Harley Quinn right. Unlike the previous films starring Robbie, this film doesn't paint her as some twisted antihero. In all actuality, she's a stone-cold killer, which leads to some hilariously violent moments from her and the rest of the cast. After three films, I think Robbie was seriously born to play this character and I don't really see anyone else being able to bring her level of charisma and talent as she does. By @matts_moviez The Suicide Squad 2021 15 director: James Gunn Starring: Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, Sylvester Stallone, Pete Davidson, Peter Capaldi, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Michael Rooker, Viola Davis, Nathan Fillion, Jai Courtnay, Flula Borg, Mayling Ng, Sean Gunn, David Dastmalchian, Alice Braga, Daniela Melchior etc The Suicide Squad is about a group of supervillains including Harley Quinn, Bloodsport and peacemaker and a bunch of nutty cons at Belle Reve prison join the super-secret, super shady Task force X. As they are dropped off at the remote, enemy infused island of Corto Maltese. Wow what an absolute thrill ride from start to finish. My first few positives would be the cinematography, gore and fun set up. As well as the fantastic cast chemistry and performances, and fantastic action. This film had some of the most creative cinematography I have seen. It had its own unique visual style and it really showed. With some very creative scenes that I have never seen before, with some very clever transitions and use of text, as well as using flowers and rain to create such an interesting and impactful effect to the action scenes. The gore was also fantastic. It was over the top, gruesome and impactful. It really made the scenes stand out with the obsessive amounts of blood and it certainly isn’t for the faint hearted, the film was willing to take risks with its gore and I loved that. I also thought the set up was a lot of fun, they didn’t mess about and set the characters up on their mission straight away, throwing you into the action immediately, which set the tone well for the rest of the film. The action was also fantastic. Partly helped by the gore. The action sequences were thrilling, entertaining and brutal. The film very rarely allowed you to stop and breathe, the action sequences all delivered and got better and better as the film went on. The cast also had insane chemistry. Every single actor worked brilliantly together, the team dynamic was unique and fun. And the comedic chemistry between everyone was fantastic. The whole cast also did fantastic performances here. With my key standouts being Idris Elba, Margot Robbie and John Cena. And new standouts of David Dastmalchian and Daniela Melchior. They all delivered fantastic performances, going all out and you could really tell the hard work and how much fun they were all having. My next few positives would be the fun opening sequence, the fantastic humour and character motivations. With excellent background to the plot, usage of powers and Soundtrack. The opening sequence was insanely fun. It was shocking, thrilling and a completely unique opening to any film I have seen before. The sheer amount of character deaths was shocking and a unique element to the film, you couldn’t get too attached to the characters and I loved that. I thought the film was hilarious. This is down to two main factors. Firstly, the insane chemistry and comedic performances from the cast, and secondly the fantastically written dialogue. It was witty, relatable and outside of the box and I laughed so many times. The character motivation for joining the team was excellent, especially focusing on Bloodsport. Amanda Waller was a fantastic villain. And the introduction of Bloodsport’s daughter and the threat and increased stakes she added for Bloodsport was excellent, and really shined a light on how the characters didn’t really have much of a choice when joining. I also thought the background into the plot was great. The film went into a good amount of detail with the characters mission, explaining the political situation in Corto Maltese well, as well as setting up the main plot point and final act excellently. The characters powers were also diverse and unique. It was amazing to see so many superheroes with such a huge range of powers. Ratcatcher and Polka dot man in particular were great. Finally, the soundtrack was also amazing, it fitted the films tone excellently, with perfectly times songs that were entertaining, created impact and was even used for some fantastic comedy. My only slight tiny little nit-pick would be the Separate Storyline with Harley Quinn, you will see that’s it’s also a positive. But the film spent slightly too long in making you Think Harley was falling for the same old tricks with men as she has in the past, so therefore it felt out of place for her character now. It was fixed but I am still slightly undecided on whether it was needed. My next few positives would be the development to the plot and how layered it was. The fantastic plot twists. The separate storyline and great villains. The plot was paced really well, it developed excellently and wasn’t one simple straight forward story, I loved the layers to it. At first it seemed like one simple mission, but I loved how the film would suddenly add a new layer and a new mission for the characters to complete, it always kept me invested. The plot twists were also excellent, there was always fun twists where the film would make you believe one thing and then turn it on its head. The twists were a mixture of comedic and very dark. And the final act twist with Amanda and Peacemaker was excellent and added another fun new layer to the film. I also did like a fair amount of the separate storyline with Harley. It bought some great visual and comedic moments. Gave the audience more information on the villains, whilst also giving Harley her independence. Setting up a lot of great things for the second half of the film, and continuing Harley’s arc of independence. The villains were great. I loved the fact that there was multiple. The generals were evil, cruel and did their jobs within the film well. And Starro despite being wonderfully absurd was also a fantastic edition to the film. With very dark and unique powers that paved the way for an insanely fun final act. My final few positives would be the great character depth, the films unique tone. The excellent final act and rising of stakes, as well as the satisfying ending. I really liked the character depth sprinkled throughout the film. Especially for Ratcatcher, Bloodsport, Polka Dot man and Rick Flag. The film had nice personal moments between a lot of the characters, as you actually grew to connect with them as you learned more about their past. The bond between Bloodsport and Ratcatcher was one of the key standouts. I also loved the films unique tone. This film was completely different to any superhero film or any film that I have seen. It was never afraid to cross some boundaries, it had its own visual style and way of storytelling. And I really commend James Gun for his work here. I also thought the final act was incredible. It was entertaining, thrilling and completely unpredictable. With so many surprises. The building of stakes was excellent, so much so that I genuinely didn’t know who was going to survive. But I loved that feeling of unpredictability. Finally, the film ended in a very satisfying way, with the characters free and having stronger relationships. As well as setting up a couple of fun things within the post credit scene. Overall, The Suicide squad is a thrilling, outrageous and over the top masterpiece. That isn’t afraid to cross some lines. It’s a completely unique and insanely fun experience. James Gun you have my full support with any film you do from now on. This is my personal favourite DC film. Overall score 99/100 By @ryan_the_nixon Positives: -fantastically lighthearted self awareness -concise and meaningful characterization while the characters are handled smartly -Well implemented dark humour Negatives: -Harley Quinn’s subplot is awkwardly executed and doesn’t fit with the other main characters -not very memorable Positive: Self Awareness Within the films presentation is a lighthearted and chirpy self awareness. It never feels like it’s belittling itself by doing this or avoiding criticism by making fun of itself (which is often how self awareness is used to a movies detriment) rather it embraces all the inherently weird and sometimes corny parts of comic books and just has a really fun time creatively implementing it into the story. It’s very careful in executing this as well, it will constantly have fun with itself but while doing this it, it isn’t afraid to also bring depth to its character. Seeing the films lighthearted self awareness bleed into its more serious moments feels appropriate, becoming too dark all of a sudden just leads to an awkwardly balanced tone that asks too much from its audience. Rather, this movie tackles the absurdities of each character head on with both sentimentality and humour, this combination dampens how cheesy the sentimental moments can be and puts a lot of emotional baggage behind jokes which can be laughed at as well as understood and sympathized with. The R rating also plays a big role in the films self awareness in two big ways. For one, gore can sometimes be used for comedic purposes (Bloodshoot and Peacemaker having a competition for who can kill the most soldiers) keeping its brilliantly dark humour engrained in the scene. While also the graphic gore can be used seriously, indicating that this is a serious moment and even though jokes may still be used, the gravity of the situation will stay as a constant and hold the viewers attention and intrigue. The lighthearted self awareness is integral to this films critical success, it can have fun with itself on a surface level and it sets the tone for a fun ride, but beneath that is where the hard work can be noticed. Both interesting ideas and meaningful character development are carefully embedded in this tone, and hold a lot of power for how emotionally investing and intriguing they are. This elevates it past just being a popcorn movie, and into something with a lot more life and personality. Positive: Characterization Surprisingly enough, this film has a lot of heart, making a concise yet effective effort to give them something more than just an explosive personality and endless blood-thirst. This doesn’t feel forced either, the film holds onto its self awareness. Despite sharing some very dark backstories that ground the characters in a more gritty view, these moments are appropriately timed, executed with a hint of dark and silly humour while being short enough to deliver a quick emotional punch but not so long that it begins to disrupt the tone. There’s also fantastic character management, the film actually feels like it has weight to it due to the fact that it’s willing to kill off a seemingly important character on a whim. This is the Suicide Squad, it’s brutally unforgiving to the colourful cast of protagonists and antagonists as to make it never feel safe. This is a rush of adrenaline and anticipation most superhero films can’t deliver, these are obscure dc villains so it doesn’t matter if they die and it uses that fact to the best of its abilities. Aside from this, I found myself caring for everyone in the main cast for different reasons, but they all charmed me in their own ways due to a combination of great acting and how distinctly written they all are. Bloodsport is a flawed character (very appropriate for a villain) but seeing his positive aspects develop over the film makes for a satisfying character arc. He’s also brilliantly acted by Idris Elba, portraying him as grumpy and jaded while still showing character growth and come to life through the fatherly role he takes on for Ratcatcher 2 and the fun attitude that cracks through his unresponsive persona. Speaking of Ratcatcher 2, she brings out a more sensitive side in each character in a way that feels natural. Easily being the most empathetic character, her innocent world view contrasts nicely with the rest of the desensitized group for the better. It also acts as a testament to her strong will against all the unfairness in her life she’s experienced, which is subtly yet powerfully annunciated in her backstory. Polka Dot Man’s characterization is the best combination of wickedly dark humour and dark subject matter. His insecure nature is captured with sensitivity and sadness by David Dastmalchian, but it’s comedically timed and meshes with the rest of the squads conversations awkwardly to double as comedic relief. However, during his backstory (whose contents seem all too plausible in a world filled with idolized superheroes) all the insecurities and social awkwardness shown before is given a double, much more tragic meaning. Of course, right after this it brings back it’s comedy in an incredibly dark way that leaves the audience not sure whether to laugh or feel guilty for him, but either way Polka Dot Man’s internal conflict had been solidified and made for a much more interesting, charmingly maniacal character. I’d like to talk about every other other character and what makes them stand out, plus the unique bond the Suicide Squad forms but this section has gone on for too long, the characters are incredibly well managed and defined. Positive: Dark Humour This is where the R rating is taken full advantage of and it pays off in an enthrallingly funny way. This twisted sense of humour is a perfect match for the Suicide Squad, it simultaneously keeps the experience lighthearted while also conveying how morally twisted and merciless this film is. This is a good contrast, but it wouldn’t mean much if the film wasn’t actually funny, fortunately the dark humour is executed with a surprise factor, superb comedic timing, and well realized self awareness (which was already delved into on the earlier slide). As for the surprise factor, the movie does a good job at including surprises that impact the scene in very dark ways (which is where the R rating comes into play), being well designed to provoke a reaction of either shock or laughter or both. This could get annoying, but it’s done with such mischievously self aware personality that it fits in well with the rest of the film, never feeling like a desperate attempt to provoke emotion and more like a natural inclusion within the films established environment. (SPOILERS START) The scene where the Suicide Squad invades an enemy base and Peacemaker and Bloodsport see who can kill the most people is a prime example of this. All the killings are played off for humour and are especially brutal, with King Shark eating one and Peacemaker shooting an fan electric fan into a persons bathtub. These deaths are played off in a blissfully uncaring way, with Peacemaker and Bloodsport having a petty rivalry while spouting one liners at each other as they find more impressive ways to kill people. This is dark enough, but this scene goes on for at least 3 minutes, each kill becoming more creative as they comb the camp and mercilessly exterminate every soldier (most of these soldiers are unaware the squads in the camp and are care-freely going about their day). There’s already enough humour present in this scene, and the audience begins to enjoy seeing what creative methods they use to dispose of people, but then it’s revealed all these soldiers were actually on their side and were planning to support them the whole time. After learning this, it’s dealt with in an incredibly solemn way. This is contrasted beautifully with how they were all killed so carelessly while the petty rivalry between Peacemaker and Bloodsport was filled with vulgarity and one liners. The surprise didn’t even need to be here to be funny, but having it changed the dynamic of the entire scene, further building on the dark humour to levels most films wouldn’t go, and being a reminder that despite being the main characters they’re still villains. (SPOILERS END) Jokes are usually delivered with fantastic timing by both how the sequence of events is delivered and the actors line delivery (the scene I just described is also a good example of timing in a sequence of events. It draws the scene out to make it seem like the underlying joke is that they’re killing people, then reveals its twist to gain a powerful emotional response by subverting expectations, while staying funny throughout). As for the acting, all the actors have varied ways of executing their dark humour but it’s all effective. For one example, John Cena as Peacemaker has fantastic deadpan delivery that makes all his morally twisted dialogue both abrupt and in turn fun for how shamelessly delivered it is. King Shark, Poka Dot Man, and even Harley Quinn also have a lot of dark humour built into their characters and subsequently the scenes they’re in, it’s brought out by the actors performances and leads to characters with a lot more lively personality. Moving away from the dark humour, each scene has so many jokes infused into it, and then those jokes are further developed on and emphasized which leads to jokes being built on jokes throughout. There are a few jokes that fall flat, but there’s so many other well executed comedic moments within the same scene that the jokes which fall flat don’t negatively stand out since there’s so many being unloaded onto the viewer at once. Negative: How Harley was handled Harleys inclusion in this film seemed inevitable, being the standout of the first film and one of the DCEU’s most popular characters. Not to mention Margot Robbie is fantastic as Harley, being one of if not the DCEU’s strongest character performances, so it makes sense to try and utilize her as much as possible. However, her inclusion in this film felt much more like something James Gunn was forced into, and had to find a way to put the character in their story while dealing with the rest of the cast. The film begins to drag whenever she gets too much attention, the actual Suicide Squad has such a fun dynamic that switching to Harley just feels like a distraction from what’s actually going on, and it doesn’t help that her subplot is uninspired and disengaging. In 2016 Suicide Squad she was in a toxic (mostly toxic the depiction of Joker and Harley in that film was so confused that it’s hard to understand what the director was going for) relationship and in Birds of Prey she was trying to become independent from the Joker. This movie just goes over this again, except instead of it being with the Joker it was with a charmless nobody that had nothing interesting about him, rather just feeling like a vehicle to further Harleys subplot (he also explains the main conflict, killing any chance of this exposition being told in a creative way). It would also be nice if Harleys character could stop being attached to relationships so we can learn something new about her, of course it’s important to touch on this since being in an abusive relationship is a key part of her character, but this film didn’t really explore any new ideas surrounding this and after two movies it just feels like her characterization is going in circles. The subplot itself is also really directionless, watching Harley go on cute and over romanticized dates with her love interest is fun but there isn’t an end goal in sight and it’s way too self surface level to actually get invested in what’s happening. The rest of the movie is constantly building on the Suicide Squads characters and their dynamic between one another, fleshing them out through a mixture of humour and down to earth yet self aware drama. Harley on the other hand gets a trashy love story that stays surface level in an attempt to show how she’s over romanticizing the experience. Everything is cliche and hyperbolized to show how optimistic Harley is, but in turn the experience ends up actually feeling just trashy, any profound message in these scenes get lost in how overextended and obvious in its presentation it gets. Negative: Not all that memorable This is a very fun and overall very positive experience that provides great entertainment with its likeable, well acted and well written characters. Usually movies like these need to find a way to stay memorable, since the characters are good but their pretty straightforward in their presentation and majority of time just used for chirpy comedy, so there isn’t much to dwell on when the movies finished. Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t do anything else exceptional to elevate it to a higher level of memorability so when it was finished I found myself forgetting a lot of what happened, with the whole experience just meshing together. The plot is as straightforward as can be, it just feels like a very straightforward fetch quest that is livened up by its characters, but when laying out the plot structuring this movie doesn’t do anything clever with this. It doesn’t do anything bad as well, but this all just ends up making the plot feel really safe. The music is good and brings an explosion of personality to each scene it’s used in, but 90% of it is lyrical copyrighted songs so The Suicide Squad doesn’t have an iconic song to truly call its own. Overall, this point is more here to explain why this film didn’t and won’t ever get a higher score from me. It’s a fantastically entertaining experience at the time and it’s definitely worth rewatching for how fun it can be at the time, but it lacks the memorability to be deserving of a higher score. Overall, The Suicide Squad boasts wickedly dark humour, a wide array of characters who each charm and connect to the audience in their own ways, and well realized self awareness that always keeps the film enjoyable. While it isn’t extremely memorable and Harley’s inclusion did bring the film down, it’s still a very fun time with enough critical prowess to be a successful comic book film, and my favourite DCEU movie as of now. Critical rating: 7.5/10 Entertainment rating: 8.5/10 Final rating: 7.5/10 By @theplokoonyreview Directed by: James Gunn Written by: James Gunn I was pretty excited to see this, considering the really good work Gunn has done with Marvel in the Guardians of the Galaxy Series. Now does he hit the highs of the Guardians’ films? No. But I think he does create a better experience than Vol. 2. The Suicide Squad seems like a film that David Ayer was trying to make before WB messed around with his cut. James Gunn does go for a lot of the “soulful” beats that Ayer was going for, through the characters of Ratcatcher II and even Polka-Dot Man. And it turns out that these are my favourite characters. Daniela Melchior was a pleasant surprise, and David Dastmalchian continues to impress me! And while Peacemaker wasn’t my favourite character, I think John Cena was very funny, and has a lot of quotables. Overall, I think the humour was pretty good. Not great, and it wasn’t bad… it’s just there weren’t many moments where I was laughing out loud. And on the topic of the action, I thought it was really good! I think the very stylized and gory action worked very well with these characters. I love how it never held back or turned away from some twisted shit. It was very easy to follow, and there was only a couple of moments where the editing was a bit overbearing (which for superhero films, it’s a good sign). The camera was always moving but it never felt too jarring - it’s hard to describe but the camerawork was simultaneously manic, but intentionally so. Some the set-piece highlights would be Harley’s escape, and then rescuing Rick Flag. Just some really cool set pieces that were executed very well on part of Gunn. Something that I’m a bit iffy on is the pacing. It’s pretty weirdly paced - in that - the movie will be moving VERY quickly… and then all of the sudden it will halt to a grinding stop to do some (admittedly needed) character development. I get that it is structured like a *run* of comics (with the stylized titles & how they section off the movie), but it still feels weird in context of a film. However, I do appreciate the fact that Gunn and the crew includes these titles as visual flares. It helps to move one scene into another, without awkwardly shoving that info in the corner or some weird line. This movie also uses music quite a bit to try to emphasize moments throughout the film. And for the most part, the music is just okay. Unlike the original Suicide Squad, the music isn’t insanely basic or egregious… here it’s just that most of the musical queues don’t make a difference, and it just adds a lot of noise. The opening sequence has a good number, and so does that scene with Harley Quinn, but that’s about it. And while I’m still on the topic of music, I really didn’t like the score. The actual musical composition was very loud and overbearing, and it really didn’t need to be. Especially when everything else (the colours, the acting, and the writing) are all very loud already. It was used in weird spots, and I just found *almost* every piece to be very generic or bad. That’s probably my biggest complaint, if I’m honest. Most of my other complaints come from a point of indifference, if anything. All the casting was on point, the action was pretty awesome, and while the pacing was odd, I still had a fuck load of fun even when there wasn’t a bunch of action going on. Even though there is a Peacemaker series in the works, I would loooove to see more from Ratcatcher II, because that character was really great. Overall, I think this is just a great summer blockbuster. I feel like James Gunn’s style fits perfectly with DC and its wacky group of characters. I’m gonna give it an even 8/10! Even with The Condiment King not being in this movie… By @dylanandhismovies The Suicide Squad is in short, everything I wanted from a movie like this. Gunn has done the impossible and created a movie that not only blows the first one out of the water but excels at being an unabashedly wild story that is one of the most fun movie-going experiences of the past few years. And man is this film a blast, it's absolutely bonkers from start to finish and I did not expect it to go places it did, Gunn has fully committed to this unpredictable style of filmmaking that has resulted in something so weird and wacky, but passionate that I cannot help but admire. I love that there are still filmmakers doing crazy shit like this and I never thought I'd say this but a Suicide Squad film has restored my faith in franchise filmmaking. Yes, it's loud, yes it's obnoxious, yes it's crass but I loved, loved, loved it, all the humour landed for me, the action is obviously simply wondrous, and it really delivers with a deliciously entertaining story with heart, with emotion and with insanity. The Suicide Squad probably fits into what is "maximalist" filmmaking and all the better for it cause it makes you go "goddamn!?" every 5 seconds. It's ultra violent, it's ultra profane and I get if this film didn't work for you, but what Gunn basically did was say 'screw it, we're going all out'. This film has some of the most absurd characters and insane concepts creatively executed. It's exciting and it's fresh. I was on board with every decision. On a filmmaking level too, I love the practical effects and how well they blend with the cgi, the pacing is TIGHT af, and for a simple story it has its moments, and packs in a lot of satisfyingly wicked scenes that I can't get enough of. The Harley Quinn escape scene is utter brilliance. And, the trailer said it best, but I think The Suicide Squad is 'horribly beautiful', I love the weird charm it brings even with such distasteful characters and I mean there's people dying all the time, and dark shit like freaky illegal experimentation but the movie still finds this perfect tonal between balance gratification and revulsion. The thing that Gunn was clearly most passionate about with this film, and the reason that made me love it so much more than 95% of comic-book movies out there, were the characters. First off we know this is called the 'SUICIDE' Squad and the 'guess who dies/don't get too attached' aspect wasn't purely a marketing gimmick, in fact it made me more invested when I knew the stakes were high, and that people were going to DIE. And Gunn made a lot of bold decisions with that (no spoilers) and they were excellent. The heart of the film though, are these rogue, strikingly special characters. Ratcatcher II brought a very human element to the film, and a comforting presence, she was most people's favourites for a reason, Harley Quinn. Oh boy, what to say, she's Harley freaking Quinn y'know!? And she was crazy, eccentric and just so Harley in this. Bloodsport is a freaking badass and the coolest character in the movie. I was even invested in Rick Flag and Polka Dot Man. The depths of the character writing like they way Gunn completes their arcs was phenomenal. And needless to say, they ALL killed their performances. So yes, this movie goes hard. By @starwarsd1 Director: James Gunn Screenplay: James Gunn Cast: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, Michael Rooker, Alice Braga, Pete Davidson Soundtrack: John Murphy Cinematography: Henry Braham Running Time: 132 minutes Budget: $185 million

Reviews by: @moviereviewswithben @thefilmobservatory @_xkrow_ @michaels_movie_bay When I watch a movie, I usually have a pretty good idea for my rating shortly after the credits roll, or a day later at most. Leaving the theatre after The Green Knight ended, I genuinely had no idea how I felt. Did I love it? Was I disappointed? Did I even understand half of it? I don’t remember the last time I was so conflicted about my thoughts on a film. Here we are, two days later. After plenty of online research and time to process my thoughts, I can now confidently say this is a great film. This is not a film for everybody, and that’s okay. some may call it a masterpiece, while others may call it pretentious and boring. Honestly I can understand both points of view, and I wouldn’t argue either. Director David Lowery has crafted a very faithful adaptation of the 14th century Arthurian poem ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’. Those familiar with Arthurian stories with find plenty to sink their teeth into, while general audiences may be a little lost at times. One thing’s for sure though - This is a bold artistic vision and a contender for the most visually stunning film of the year. The imagery, the cinematography, the visual effects and the editing are astounding, leading to a beautiful and visceral experience that I won’t soon forget. This story leans heavily on symbolism, and even though there was plenty that went over my head, I can’t deny how impressed I was with this storytelling technique. My only real issue is the pacing, which is methodically slow. Lowery is known for long takes that last forever (Remember when we watched Rooney Mara eat a pie for 4 and a half minutes in A Ghost Story?), but his slow approach to certain scenes isn’t always effective or necessary here. I was sometimes frustrated by the lack of momentum, but the movie is so gorgeous that it’s sluggish pacing can be forgiven. I would encourage anyone who watches The Green Knight to do a bit of homework afterwards before passing final judgement. Check out the source material or even hop on a forum to see how others interpreted the film. I can guarantee you’ll appreciate this film a lot more after doing so. 8/10 By @moviereviewswithben 4.5/5 Fantasy Epic/Adventure After King Arthur’s (Sean Harris) nephew Gawain (Dev Patel) recklessly accepts the mysterious Green Knight’s (Ralph Ineson) irrevocably binding Christmas game, he must journey to relocate his challenger, on a perilous and hallucinatory quest that tests his manhood and chivalry. SPOILER WARNING! How do I begin to discuss The Green Knight? David Lowery’s unconventional take on the anonymously written 14th century Arthurian poem, detailing Gawain’s tale of eager recklessness leading to solemn retribution, is weird, challenging, and mind-bending. In other words, for better or worse, it’s an A24 film. As usual with the distinctive creations of the esteemed indie production company that every cinephile (myself included) is in love with, I have to be in a certain mood to watch this but enjoyability retrospectively fades into the background in significance, when mentally analysing and evaluating this experience. Lowery’s ability to stick so seemingly close to the key points of morality and honour from the source material, while adapting the story to have such a contemporary and ambitious tone, is remarkable, and The Green Knight is demonstrable of truly fantastic filmmaking. Dev Patel’s nuanced portrayal of Gawain is an intriguing one: not quite noble but not quite childish. Our protagonist begins determined to prove himself but lacks the patience and focus of the other more mature knights of the Round Table. We find him awakening in a brothel with his lover, Essel (Alicia Vikander), in a romance doomed because of the class barrier. Gawain soon hurries to meet the others for the Christmas celebrations, and we immediately get the sense that he doesn’t take his potential role lightly; he’s just young and wants to live how he’d like to. However, everything soon goes to shambles when the Green Knight shows up with a Christmas ‘game’, and most of us know how it goes there: monologue, choppy-chop, “One year hence”. A shocked Round Table applauds Gawain, who doesn’t seem to fully understand the consequences of those actions. As for our Arthur and Guinevere (Kate Dickie), their performances utilise the exact amount of necessary subtlety. These older presentations of them possess an element of age and the resigned realisation of how time eternally marches on, showing the beginning and end of all, as royal and ‘blessed’ as one may be. Their faces alone look like they’ve seen it all and both seem stoic but tired, nicely setting the stage for Gawain to prove himself as a potential successor. I also like that the two characters are only named ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ in the credits, succinctly telling the audience that this story isn’t focused on Gawain’s famous uncle, but rather the titular mystical figure and the young trainee himself. Lowery then jumps the timeline forward by a year, with an astute subtitle along the lines of how it had been “one year too quick”, and Gawain prepares to embark on his dooming journey, after a year of anxious consideration and eventual acceptance. Now, this is where the surrealness is soon to begin. The film can be broken down into multiple sections that collectively recall the narrative structure of tales as old as that of the Green Knight, each one heavily imbued with symbolism and notions of morality. Gawain comes across various side quests, the first one being his encounter with a seemingly good-willed young man (Barry Keoghan), who has a secretly malignant agenda. After our protagonist is robbed and left for dead by him and his desperate cohorts, all hope seems lost, conveyed by a painstakingly slow take of about 360 degrees that comes around to show a skeleton, rotting away in nature. However, the camera rotates back around to show him deciding that his purpose was not complete until he faced his ultimate destiny, and he demonstrates resilience when he fights to break his imposing bonds, through his first bare-knuckle scrape with death. Despite the relevance of Keoghan’s character in this section, he’s simply referred to as ‘Scavenger’, reminding the audience of A24’s unconventional prioritisation of the theme or message over the minor characters themselves. This first misadventure acts to throw him literally and figuratively off his high horse and prove that his decision to commit wasn’t going to be the easiest part of this journey. Detrimentally missing some of his attire and the Green Knight’s axe, he continues on his way, proving that the young and inexperienced Gawain is more than just a pretty face. Our next encounter beholds Saint Winifred (an unsettling Erin Kellyman), who was historically said to have been beheaded by the son of a local prince after his advances were rejected. This segment is where things start to get especially weird, but it boils down to a test of Gawain’s selflessness, as a human and potential future knight. While he’s consequently rewarded with what had been lost, Winifred gave no prior promise of this, and simply asked for him to retrieve her physical head from the close-by pond, to put her (undead) mind at ease. Colour is used distinctly, from the murky navy-blue of the mist to the alarming, crimson red when Gawain submerges himself into the water. Here, the lines of reality are blurred with eerie tricks being played on our protagonist, such as the skeletal head in his hands briefly appearing as a regular, human one, after Gawain sees the rest of Saint Winifred’s physical body waiting in her home. Lowery efficiently utilises elements of folk horror to craft suspense, and uniquely tie into archaic mythology. Rule of three: you can guess that Gawain’s trials are not over just yet. One interspersion of giants, talking foxes and ominous hallucinations later, Gawain is greeted by a Lord (Joel Edgerton, an underrated commander of subtlety) and his Lady (Alicia Vikander, mind-bendingly pulling off dual roles), and his relaxing stay at their wealthy abode initially seems like a blessing of earned peace. However, this section brings out Gawain’s uglier side, as the Lady strives to tempt him into laying with her, despite her seemingly healthy marriage to his generous benefactor, and his commitment to Essel. The Lady’s resemblance of Essel is no coincidence, and tests whether Gawain’s loyalty is to person or body. Throughout all media, the portrayal of sexual desire can massively vary the intended messages and implications of a specific scene or part of a text etc. While it’s a natural experience for many people, things like religious codes and some cultures have historically invoked a taboo that indulging in them, even in solely healthy contexts, can be evil or a work of the devil, which serves as an example of how representation can drastically alter meaning. In my opinion, a lot of these taboos are completely outdated, but infidelity is still obviously wrong. That’s because the accompanying aspects of emotional awareness and morality remain unarguably relevant to a modern audience, and The Green Knight is an interesting study in its relating portrayal. As the Green Knight’s paganism seeps into the cracks of the religious orientation of this story, the film isn’t bothered about the premarital status of Gawain’s actions but rather it tests his devotion broadly; if he can’t reject the temptation to indulge his selfish desires, then why should he be granted knighthood, with his code deemed honourable and his legacy deemed brave? These themes are nicely tied up in a bow by Vikander’s mesmerising monologue about the colour ‘green’ and its existence as a symbol of omnipotent, nature. It’s described as “what lust leaves behind” and something that Gawain’s skin, bones and virtue will “succumb to”, which I interpreted to represent his guilt and the consequences of his impulsive disloyalty. After he loses self-control and gives in to temptation, Vikander’s cold delivery of “You are no knight” solidifies his ultimate failure, almost acting metaphorically as the voice of an upper force judging Gawain and orchestrating his quest. A brief encounter with the knowledgeable Lord forces Gawain to confront his own wrongdoing and cowardice, as he scrambles towards the end of his journey. Opening with the cheery subtitle “A Beheading at the Green Chapel”, the film’s ending section is a brilliant and fitting climax to this epic. After Gawain arrives to meet his fate, he anticipatingly waits through the night for the Green Knight to awake, before frequently hesitating to allow him to deliver the killing blow, displaying that he doesn’t yet feel ready, which is also signified by his lingering possession of the green sash, that is to protect him from harm. The ending displays his final chance to accept his mistakes and willingly go with dignity, and he initially doesn’t seem to fulfil it, as we see a harrowing vision into Gawain’s future if he left untimely. It’s an unsettling sight, filled with cruelty and corruption, as he’s presented to be a poison to those who love him and his kingdom alike. Like a strangely self-aware, alternate ending, that also acts as a cautionary tale for Gawain, who then bravely decides to remove the sash and stop running. While ambiguous endings can come off as frustrating and pretentious, The Green Knight showcases a perfectly executed one, with the eponymous character delivering a final line that induces delicious indefiniteness when we unresolvedly cut to credits. Whether the Green Knight meant “Off with your head” or “Off, with your head”, the ending is still satisfying, as our central protagonist demonstrates a final act of valour to complete his journey and matures as a character. Since Gawain willingly accepted to die, his potential survival would likely have grown into a more noble and kind life but, either way, he passed the test of proving himself worthy of knighthood, so I can imagine that Lowery’s take may have been that seeing any more of the character’s true future wouldn’t matter, which is an interpretation that I’m personally happy to go along with. A crucial element of The Green Knight is the atmosphere and world that it so delicately crafts. Andrew Droz Palermo’s cinematography presents an individual work of art in every shot and commands a visual mastery that enhances the scale and authenticity of this film. The gorgeous colour palette fluidly balances the rich greens, the sublime yellows, the perilous reds and the solemn greys, bringing an entrancing effect that captures the eye and engages the mind. Daniel Hart’s haunting score employs perturbing dissonance, elevating the air of mind-bending mystery, as well as traditional strings, such as what sounded like a lute or harp, to link into the period setting. One of my favourite tracks was ‘Tell Me A Tale Of Yourself, So That I Might Know Thee’, as it quietly offered a serene sense of adventure and destiny: a calm before the storm, as the tone of which was soon to be thrown into challengingly murky waters of morality. Another standout, ‘Now I’m Ready, I’m Ready Now’, underscored the vision of Gawain’s alternate fate, in which Hart utilised uneasy vibrato to tangibly imbue the scene with a feeling of sinister foreboding. Overall, the music is bold, versatile and it’s what generic cinema often fails to be these days: experimental and unique. Another major part of The Green Knight is the symbolism, which is established from the offset, as the film alarmingly opens on the distinct image of Gawain being on fire, in what seems to be a weird, metaphorical ritual. The fox that accompanies Gawain on part of his journey serves an interesting role, perhaps suiting the traditional character archetype of the ‘helper’ and existing as his guardian angel, linking to the connotations of spirituality and divine beauty attached to the animal. However, there were points, like in the opening, where I felt that the symbolism became too heavy. To be fair, this may have been due to the confining limits to my depth of knowledge surrounding the source material and Arthurian mythology, but this doesn’t change the fact that my fairly frequent lack of understanding of what certain things meant and what was even going on in some scenes, in combination with the overly languid pacing, caused this film to be art that I wholly appreciated but found it sometimes difficult to be entertained by. As I mentioned earlier, The Green Knight is definitely a film that I have to be in a certain mood for, so I would suggest against making my classic blunder of watching it on a Friday night, after an exhausting week of working. Despite The Green Knight’s straining of the limits to consistent engagement, I do think that it’s an awe-inspiring work of art, that’s magnificently directed and thematically thoughtful. This is pretty much A24 on top form, and an impeccable demonstration of how the production studio wonderfully provides lesser-known filmmakers with the opportunity to birth and share their original, weird and unprecedented creations with the world. This film is a prime example of why I love A24 and am intrigued to experience any future projects hailing from it. My brief warning would be to not expect Lord of the Rings; this film isn’t even remotely trying to be commercial. Overall, I would recommend The Green Knight specifically to fans of fantasy and adventure who can enjoy a strange but rewarding slow-burn. By @thefilmobservatory Lowery’s 2021 fantasy epic, “The Green Knight”, adapted from the original poem, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, is a masterclass in restrained story telling and ponders wonderfully at what it means to be a knight in a messed up high fantasy coming of age flick. Story wise, its quite bare bones. On one Christmas, a monstrous green knight, given a unique and booming identity by Ralph Ineson, challenges Sir Arthur’s (Sean Harris) knights of the round table to a game – strike him once, and in one year’s time, he shall return the blow in the same manner. Arthur’s nephew, Gawain (Dev Patel), accepts and chops off the knight’s head in a single mighty blow. The knight, not dying, picks up his head, reminds Gawain to meet him at the Green Chapel in one year, and rides out laughing. The rest of the film now follows this journey, where he shall meet all manner of trouble including bandits, spirits, and other supernature phenomena as he seeks to complete his promise. First thing I must compliment is though I called the story bare bones, just as Lowery’s first outing, the experience he builds upon it is quite astonishing and leaves little wanting. His approach is slow and deliberate – we see almost every step of his journey, each fantastical creature he encounters, and how his resolve slowly wains as he learns of the horrors committed by others “honorable” knights. One of my favourite shots comes when right when he is taken into the castle and he finds comfortable rest for the first time in days. The camera sees his from the sky, laying calmy in a bed, as the drapes block us in, as if the allure of comfort is trapping him, locking him inside and stopping him from his arduous quest. The cinematography is strong throughout the runtime, feeling expanse and beautiful when needed and small and nimble at others. The performances are also great, with Dev Patel doing a spectacular job as Gawain. His portrayal of the tortured knight really sold me on his inner conflict between life and bravery. Ralph Ineson’s voice just fits the larger-than-life green knight and gives him a commanding presence fitting his power. There are other great performances, but we don’t spend much time with them as we do these two but lay assured you won’t find any lacking. This section will be a bit spoiler-y as I discuss Gawain’s character so read with caution or skip to the end. I find Gawain to be a fascinating character. He is the youngest of Sir Arthur’s knights, and as pointed in a conversation at the beginning, one lacking a true tale of his own. And so, when the Green Knight shows up with a challenge, it presents an opportunity he cannot ignore. But this one decision, this showcase of strength, sends him down a path he will never overcome. As the film progresses, we come across many strangers, but the one that linger beyond are the Sir and the Lady of the castle. Here, the woman offers Gawain a sash that will save him from any physical harm. He, worn out by his journey and fearing his seemingly inevitable death, takes it, and the woman, disappointed, says he “is no knight”. This small bit of dialogue strikes him at his core, as he runs out of the caste to face his destiny and meet the knight. By as the knight is about to swing his axe, Gawain reflects on what the future will hold for him. He sees that even if he survives, he will never be able to take the sash off, as it represents his act of cowardice. He may become a great king, but he will never become a great knight. Even if his neck is safe, his ego will forever be cut. And finally, facing down the axe and hit with this realization, he removes the sash, making himself vulnerable once more, and asks the knight to do what he must, to which the Green Knight smiles. Though the movie cuts away before we find out what happens next, it doesn’t even really matter. This whole journey was about Gawain needing to decide what sort of man he wanted to become, and now that he has chosen to face death, to hold up his vow, he has made that decision and anything beyond is simply irrelevant. This beautiful yet compelling journey makes him one my favorite protagonists put to film in recent memory. Overall, I found the Green Knight to be epic fantasy done right. Its no Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings, but a quiet mediation on a character who must choose between the life fitting of the brave knights he has grown with or something more comfortable, even if it costs him his pride. If you find character driven drama and cinematic imagery to be your thing, this is a must watch that will have you pondering long after the credits roll. I give the Green Knight a 9/10. By @_xkrow_ 4/5 A young Sir Gawain (Patel) accepts a challenge from a mystical creature in a bid for honor and glory. But when the time comes to complete his quest, he must face not only his deadly foe but his own cowardice and inadequacy. The Green Knight is a loose retelling of the 14th century Arthurian tale, entirely deconstructing and repurposing the story. It serves as a dissection of the ideas of manhood, heroism, honor, bravery, and morality. And while its message is obscured by some bewildering elements, the film serves as a cautionary tale and a searing condemnation of moral relativity. Dev Patel gives a true movie star performance, capturing the essence of his character with tragic perfection. Gawain, a would-be knight, sacrifices personal integrity for fame and glory, slowly descending into greater and greater moral failure through a series of decisions he justifies for his greater good. Vikander, Eggerton, and Choudhry also work well with the material, but the reworking of their characters creates more confusion than cohesion. This movie is beautiful, an epic in scope, and a showcase of director David Lowery’s exquisite visual eye. Filmed in Ireland, there are so many stunning and fantastical locations that, with the help of only minimal CGI, enhance both the beauty and menace of the story. The Green Knight is sparsely written, relying on imagery and suggestion more than dialogue and exposition. This minimalist approach causes the second act to drag and the film can be a bit of a slog as it seems more caught up in its own self-importance than telling a cohesive narrative. However, a truly surprising, shocking, and intellectually challenging final act saves this film from being a pretentious mess. Hot take: The film often feels overly impressed with itself, but Dev Patel and a killer ending elevate this into a worthwhile think-piece. By @michaels_movie_bay

Reviews by: @thefilmobservatory 3.5/5 Action/Thriller Experienced and unflinching mercenary Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) takes on the task of rescuing a drug lord’s kidnapped son, Ovi Mahajan (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), from his father’s dangerous rival. The plot of Extraction doesn’t really venture beyond that single sentence… but that’s okay. Releasing onto Netflix in April 2020, in a world already in lockdown, this reunion of writer Joe Russo with the lead actor Chris Hemsworth, after the success of the MCU, provided some albeit gritty escapism for those who like high-octane, ultraviolent action romps. I’m not usually particularly into films that aren’t bothered with having a coherent storyline, and I may have not enjoyed Extraction if it didn’t have one. That isn’t to say it’s a complex portrait of three-dimensional characters, involving heart-wrenching betrayal, powerful messaging, and relevant social commentary. It’s just a narratively simple action film that effectively applies to the genre conventions and understands what it’s meant to be, and I had a great time watching it with my best friend. Hemsworth’s main role is a sufficiently interesting protagonist, with an admittedly cliché backstory, but they don’t lean on this too much, it’s just there to offer some context to his motives and feelings about the mission, so it works fine. The established Aussie actor claimed that Extraction was “probably the most exhausting shoot” that he’s ever completed, and it shows. Stunt double and coordinator Sam Hargrave’s directorial debut demonstrates the crew’s collective understanding of how to choreograph action and make it feel gritty. Extraction is pretty violent but it never feels unrealistic; Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake takes a beating in this film, avoiding the action movie trope of the central protagonist essentially being invincible. Not to say he doesn’t pull off many impressive feats amidst the ongoing savagery in Bangladesh, including a brutal kill with a literal rake! A highlight of the film is a single take sequence, that lasted over 10 minutes, intensely spanning through car chases, melee combat sequences, and gunfights. The lack of any noticeable cuts meant that stunt doubles weren’t a particularly viable option so Hemsworth’s training and physicality come in to shine here. Randeep Hooda is especially good here, as Saju, the right-hand man of Ovi Mahajan Sr. (Pankaj Tripathi). He joins the fray as a third party going after Ovi and comes head-to-head with Rake in a nail-biting knife fight, adding an effective element of chaos and overwhelming odds to the overall sequence, as the audience tries to discern why one of the kidnapped boy’s father’s men is fighting Rake. The sequence was impressive enough, before I found out that Hargrave strapped himself to a car to film at least a part of it, because he deemed it too dangerous for the camera crew: Hargrave’s prior experience led to a very hands-on shoot, and it feels as authentic as most action movies can come. Note: he also had a small role as a sniper assisting Rake. Conclusion: Sam Hargrave is pretty awesome. Hooda is brilliant in the film, bursting onto the scene and being a worthy (initial) antagonist to foil Hemsworth. He got a little welcome backstory and development to understand his motives but he mainly shined in the large, explosive set-pieces, and his character massively grew on me throughout the film. As for other good performances, Jaiswal is pretty solid as the likable and sympathetic Ovi. Playing one of the main characters of the film, Jaiswal was only 16 when the film released so props to him for already demonstrating good acting talent. The timid teenager clearly isn’t suited to the life he has to live as the son of a drug lord, but he’s fully aware of how dangerous his father is, and we get a sense of how fed up he is with being treated as cargo because of his status for the criminal underworld. Ovi and Rake begin to form a sweet father-son bond, which is admittedly underdeveloped but adds some heart to the movie. Another notable child actor was Suraj Rikame, as child soldier Farhad, who holds his own when he actually comes up directly against Rake himself at one point. He plays an intentionally unlikable character, but the audience can sympathise with the difficulty of the situation he’s in, as he’s at the mercy of the violent Bangladeshi crime lord Amir Asif (Priyanshu Painyuli). As for Painyuli in this film, he’s fine. The kidnapper of Ovi completely lacks any backstory or development but he demonstrates enough of a threat to our protagonists to be an intimidating villain in the movie. It was fun to see David Harbour outside of Stranger Things, and his role as an old friend of Rake, Gaspar, wasn’t complicated but added a nice touch to our main protagonist’s backstory and past connections. Finally, Golshifteh Farahani was pretty good as Rake’s employer Nik. While she spends the majority of the film over comms to Rake, helping him with the mission from afar, an especially good bridge battle towards the end allowed her to get in on the action, with a quite literally explosive entrance, and she absolutely didn’t disappoint. The reason for my descriptions of the cast being so short is that there isn’t too much to say about them because Extraction’s strong points really are the ones involving the kinetic and gruesome action. Atmosphere is built well in this movie. It seems to have been predominantly, if not fully, filmed on location, so the energy of the bustling city feels realistic and functions nicely as a backdrop for the chases and conflict. I can’t actually remember the score (from usually great composer Henry Jackman, and Alex Belcher) which demonstrates that either the music was pretty forgettable or it just faded very well into the rest of the movie. Either way, it wasn’t particularly memorable, however, the rest of the sound design was good, with convincing sounds for anything from rattling guns to ferocious explosions to stifled yelps of pain. Something I found annoying was the fact that the movie does that classic thing where if it’s set in a foreign country that isn’t European or American, there’s use of massively exaggerated saturation, which can be a bit jarring to watch but, fortunately, it wasn’t frustrating to the point of ruining enjoyment. The aforementioned bridge battle is another highlight of the movie. Involving a helicopter, snipers, and a video-game level of kills for Rake and Saju, it was Hargrave indulging in all his zeal that had built up throughout the movie and it was a lot of fun. While the single take sequence was the technically more impressive part, the bridge fight was an excellent climax for the film and perfectly embodied the style, tone, and choreography previously established. It wasn’t really necessary for a film of this niche but there was actually a decent emotional climax too, which I can appreciate. Overall, Extraction is made by people with passion for and experience with the action genre. It possesses a fairly lacklustre story but it utilises the consequently free runtime to positively entertaining effect. The choreography is top-notch and this movie was highly enjoyable, especially because I had the opportunity to watch it with my best friend. I recommend it to those who like watching action movies, thrillers, and Chris Hemsworth taking out more men than Nathan Drake. By @thefilmobservatory

Liberalism in India has always been strongly individualistic and idealistic and this energy, collectively has been channelised for social and moral reform where each individual is expected to be responsible for their virtues. Satyajit Ray hails from a period when social and cultural reform were being highly motivated by Nehruvian ideology - the influence of which could be clearly seen in his modernist approach in cinema. In 1970, Ray told an interviewer: 'I admired Nehru, I understood him better, because I am also in a way a kind of product of East and West. A certain liberalism, a certain awareness of Western values and a fusion of Eastern and Western values was in Nehru, which I didn’t find in Gandhi … I always understood what Nehru was doing.' His love for the amalgamation of western and eastern values is brought to life through his narratives. Time is linearized and progressive in his films creating a world that allows (or should allow) for freedom of expression and equality, where rationality plays the leading role. More often he has been banished for portraying Hinduism negatively or for highlighting a certain part of poverty-stricken India, though his purpose has always been capturing realism. - Even his fantasy fiction Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen and sequels possess the undertone of revolution and the fight for independence against a malicious king. His noteworthy films that any cinema lover should check out once in their lifetime: Pather Panchali, Aparajito, Apur Sansar, Jalsaghar, Devi, Nayak, Charulata, Sonar Kella, Teen Kanya, Mahanagar. Progression and Feminism Ray's strongpoint has always been his characters that he developed with utmost care and depth. His characters are never pliant according to the generalized moulds of a hero and villain. Always laden with shades of grey, they are delineated from the ideological point of view, allowed to speak and act in ways they prefer; though his ideas of morality become evident in his narrative - what is wrong in his eyes is discernible if not reprimanded openly. He had immense interest in the ways of human thought process and interaction with the dynamics of a society like the protagonist of the Apu Trilogy (adapted from Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's Apu Trilogy), Apu - a poor brahmin boy from the small village of Nischindipur with an intellect that goes beyond the confines of his poverty and constricted liberty of his place. Apu leaves in search of knowledge but finds love and loss, heartbreaks and deception in the cities he stays in. He had life as his teacher and suffering as his kin as he learnt through mistakes and kindness. Similar sense of liberalism is expressed through his portrayal of female characters that are often progressive or the victim of the misogynistic Hindu society. - Arati of Mahanagar, an housewife who sets out to be an equal contributor to her extended family, Dayamoyee of Devi, a victim of superstition and blind faith, Charu of Charulata, an embodiment of sexuality and ambition. Thus in his work, Ray has always been interested in sketching the psychological aspects of the protagonists and their family, creating a sense of intimacy that connects us with the characters. He, I believe, was the connoisseur of artistic liberalism that only practiced social reform through condemnation of irrational beliefs and acceptance of logical, scientific approach to life - the same approach that he used in his brilliant works thoroughly. As Akira Kurosawa rightly said - "Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon." By @cinema_wallah