Category Archives: Movies/TV/Theaters

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Mean Girls’ review

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By: Kendra Shanklin

*Warning: This review contains spoilers

‘Mean Girls’ is about a girl named Cady who had been homeschooled while she was living in Africa but then her mom got a job which made her transfer to public school. Along with having to transfer schools, she also struggles with being friends with a few girls named Regina, Gretchen and Karen. This movie is rated PG-13 for its teen drinking and strong language.

*Recap

In the beginning of the movie, a girl named Cady, who was a transfer student from Africa, struggles to make many friends, but she keeps on trying. The next day, she meets two people named Jamison and Janis. She asks them if they can help her find her next class and they say “Sure”. After class they go to the class and Janis is telling Cady about everyone and who to talk to or who not to talk too.

While in lunch, Cady is trying to find somewhere to sit. While she’s doing that, a boy stops her and starts trying to make jokes, but Cady didn’t understand what was going on. Regina then steps in and tells the boy to stop messing with Cady, Regina then tells Cady that she could start sitting with them and how tomorrow she should come to her Halloween party.

Even though it seems like Cady had made friends with Regina and her friends, Regina was just trying to set her up to back stab her.

*My review

I love how this movie focuses on bullying and trying to fit in. This is my favorite 2000s era drama movie to watch, so if you love drama and comedy I recommend watching this. I rate this 10/10.

Thank you for reading my review and I hope you’re willing to watch this movie.

You can watch ‘Mean Girls’ on Paramount+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.

Movies/TV/Theaters

Review of Part 2 of the Hit Netflix TV Show ‘Lupin’

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By: Karl Salkowski

(Image credit: Unsplash)

‘Lupin’ is a crime drama directed by Louis Leterrier set in modern-day Paris, France. After the first part reached widespread critical acclaim and popularity, a second part soon followed. Released on June 11, 2021, part two continued the story of brilliant criminal Assane Diop while significantly expanding the scope.

Part 2 uses a similar formula but shifts its focus away from the past and instead towards the present day. This season focused on developing Assane Diop’s familial relationships, contrasting with the revenge driven focus of the first season. This season highlights Assane’s sacrifice and the life he gives up for his family and friends.

The lead actor who plays Assane Diop, Omar Cy, gives an incredible performance throughout this follow up season. Overall, he acts very convincingly, adding lots of additional depth to the character of Assane Diop. However, most of the writing for the side characters in this season felt rushed and unnatural.

Personally, the character writing in the second half of the season frustrated me, and the cliffhanger at the end left a lot to be desired. This season is an excellent follow up to the first season, but it struggles to find its footing. The story sometimes feels choppy, but overall it does tell a consistent narrative filled with many twists and turns.

The second part often struggles with its quick pacing and overcomplexity, but it is still able to deliver a very interesting and enjoyable experience. I would definitely recommend this show to anyone interested in crime dramas or the heist genre in general. Although my rating has been fairly harsh, I did thoroughly enjoy this show and would definitely recommend it. If I had to rate this season, I would give it an 8 out of 10. It is a great follow up to season 1, excellently expanding the narrative and the life of Assane Diop.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘The Hunger Games’ movie review

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By: Marina Yang

The first ‘Hunger Games’ movie was created in 2012, and directed by Gary Ross who helped co-write the screenplay with author Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray. It was produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik. The main cast of the movie being Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence), Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), and other lesser characters like Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), and more.

The movie first plays out with the main character Katniss Everdeen, who is in one of the many districts who are made to play these games for rewards/resources from the Capitol. How the Hunger Games work is that a messenger from the Capitol comes to each district to draw two opposite gender entrants for the games, being luck-based. You then have to fight against other people who are all there for the same thing, to win for their districts. It’ll often end with one winner (besides in this movie where it had two) who brings back victory for their district. However, Katniss name was not drawn in the start, but it was her sister instead who has only just turned the age eligible to be in the drawing. Fear overtakes Katniss and makes her volunteer in place of her sister as she fears the death of her sister who is yet so young and inexperienced. Then the second name drawn is Peeta Mellark’s, to be the second person to enter in the hunger games accompanying Katniss.

The Hunger Games is just a big game of survival and deaths and kills to survive up to victory. Though, occasionally the game will add in challenges to make the game more difficult for the players alongside the secret alliances and battles amongst the tributes. This game really shows the true natures of some people, showing their greed to win, what they view as honor to keep the title of a “winner”, kindness in a dangerous environment, weak to and strong, etc.

At moments of the movie I found myself conflicted especially with Peeta switching up every once in a while with his act and who he was to who he wanted to be. Plus, the touch of romance didn’t really fit right with me either, I mean outside of this I’d find it normal, but I felt kind of unsure especially since Katniss and Peeta’s interactions before the Hunger Games weren’t really mentioned nor seemed very important in the movie. I just felt like Peeta’s love interest was just added for a touch of humanity but it still but felt sort of unnecessary to the story.

Overall, not a bad movie but not my regular watch nor favorite so I’d say a 3.8/5. Not sure if it’s too low or high, but I think it’s not really my thing but it definitely wasn’t bad.

You can watch the movie through streaming sites that require subscriptions or purchasing the film.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘The Northman’ (2022) review

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By: Treshawn Ross

General info

‘The Northman’ was directed by Robert Eggers and it was co-written by Robert Eggers and Sjón. The budget for the movie was around 70 million. The movie came out in April of 2022. The movie slightly underperformed in the box office but it had a resurgence in VOD and home media which covered the losses. Many people consider the movie to be divisive for different reasons.

Plot summary (no major spoilers)

The movie focuses on Prince Amleth and his father, King Aurvandill. After the king comes back to his island of Hrafsney after a long military campaign he finds out that he is mortally wounded.

He prepares his son Amleth for kingship with a ceremony with a sorcerer. After this the king and his son are betrayed. Amleth vows revenge on the man who betrayed him.

What the movie did well

Cinematography- The great camerawork captures the mood of every scene; the lighting is usually darker to set a more somber mood.

Storyline- The story is very consistent throughout the movie, I never thought “How did we get here?” during the film. The film takes heavy inspiration from ‘Hamlet’ by Shakespeare and the Norse version of the story that came before ‘Hamlet’. But the film doesn’t simply retread these story beats, it’s made unique by the acting.

Acting- The actors in this film did a wonderful job portraying the Viking age. I thought Anya Taylor-Joy did a great job as the female lead “Olga” and Claes Bang portrayed Fjölnir perfectly.

Critiques

Dialogue- Some of the dialogue in the movie could’ve been more natural, sometimes it seemed forced or unrealistic. The characters only speak in large proclamations or riddle-like sentences which are similar to Shakespeare. This could throw many viewers off in my opinion.

Who I would recommend this movie to

I’d recommend this movie to people who are interested in Viking/Norse mythology and history, also people who enjoy movies centered around the theme of revenge. People who enjoy large scale period pieces would likely enjoy this movie as well. I would give this movie a 8.5/10.

You can watch ‘The Nortman’ on Netflix.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘The Hangover Part III’ review

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By: Kendra Shanklin

*Warning: this review contains spoilers

‘The Hangover Part 3’ was released May 20th, 2013 and is about 4 guys named Stu, Alan, Phil, and Doug who wanted to go on a road trip to get their friend Alan in a rehab facility after his father passed away. While on the road trip they get in a situation where they get chased and kidnapped not knowing why. This movie is rated R for its drug/alcohol use, pervasive language and some violence.

*Recap

After they get kidnapped a man comes out of a car named Marshall, and Stu asks why they are there. Marshall says because one of his guys sold Alan some drugs by accident. After that, he then says that there’s a friend of theirs named Mr. Chow that stole over 20 million dollars worth of gold from him.

Marshall then tells them that he’s giving them a mission to retrieve the 20 million dollars back for him and told them he will be taking their friend Doug until they complete it. Marshall then leaves in a car taking Doug with him.

While they’re at the gas station filling up their car with gas, Alan comes out of the store saying he got a text a few days ago. Thinking it was a random person but re-reading the text now, he realized there’s a possibility that it could be Mr. Chow. They send him a text pretending to be Alan saying how he wants to see him. Chow gives them an address to meet up at and tells Alan to not bring anybody and to be alone.

My review:

I love this movie and I like how there’s drama and comedy to it. I love watching these movies in my free time when I have nothing else to do. This movie is probably one of my favorites to watch of all time. I love how they have to work out how to get Doug back, and the mystery around it all. I recommend watching it if you like comedy and drama. I rate this movie a 10/10

Thank you for reading my review. I hope you’re willing to watch the show after reading this.

You can watch ‘The Hangover Part 3’ on Netflix, Apple tv, and Prime Video.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘White Chicks’ movie review

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By: Marina Yang

Version 1.0.0

‘White Chicks’ is a classic 2000’s (specifically 2004) comedy, best known for its iconic jokes and the well-known actors the Wayan brothers; Shawn, Marlon and Keenan Ivory. The movie was directed and produced by Keenan Ivory with Shawn and Marlon both being writers and star actors for the movie.

The main plot of ‘White Chicks’ is two FBI agents (Marcus Copeland and Kevin Copeland) are on the brink of losing their jobs because of their previous assignment where they messed up a drug bust and confused harmless ice cream sellers with drug dealers. They manage to get one last chance and get assigned to protect two sisters, Brittany and Tiffany Wilson, from kidnappers and safely escort them to a fashion event in the Hamptons.

Along the way though, they experience a minor car-crash causing the sisters to freak out, causing them to not want to attend the event. With their jobs on the line the FBI agents plan to go undercover as the two sisters, as two ‘white chicks’, squeezing between the two lives of a white girl and a black man. Ultimately, they discover the real kidnappers of the whole ordeal in the end and save their jobs and relationships.

This movie is very humorous for its iconic references and jokes, though it does contain some more mature content. The movie briefly covers the issues of miscommunication and lying as the two brothers often found themselves in a dilemma between balancing their life and their jobs. For example, Marcus is constantly putting his wife at distrust due to him being overworked and taking out his sleepiness on her, giving her a lack of attention and building up to her thinking he’s unfaithful. While Kevin tries to approach a news reporter, Denise Porter, though not as the real him but as someone else, Latrell Spencer, a famous basketball player. The real Spencer though, has a thing for ‘white chicks’, and has an attraction to Marcus undercover as the sister, before it was announced he was a black man. This fact gives a nice touch into reality rather than just this FBI agent mission because it shows that outside of jobs or cool things like this, they are people who hold their own values amongst other/different people/social life. Being more individual than their job titles in this case.

I really liked this movie because of its jokes and just overall likable characters throughout the movie, so I give it a 5/5. People really hyped up about this movie and they weren’t lying when they said it was good. Although at first, it didn’t look as promising, but once I got a few minutes into it I instantly started feeling engaged. Now, whenever I see the Wayan brothers it’s going to be funny in a way.

You can watch this movie via subscription on Netflix or rent or purchase it on other streaming platforms.

Movies/TV/Theaters

My review of ‘On My Block’

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By: Kendra Shanklin

*Warning: This review contains spoilers

‘On My Block’ is a show about a group of teens named Caeser, Monse, Jamal, and Ruby who have complicated lives, and who are trying to juggle between school and friendships while trying to find rollerworld money. This show was released March 16, 2018 and is rated TV-14 because it contains gangs, violence, and strong language.

*Recap

In the first season of ‘On My Block’ the group of teens were watching a high school party from over a brick wall. They were talking about how freshman year will be awesome, and they were also mentioning that they wanted to get their friend Caesar out of the Santos gang, but it was hard for them to help him because they had no money. So, in order to help Caesar all the teens came together to try and find the rollerworld money, which was money that was supposedly hidden by the Santos gang.

Monse and Ruby think that there’s no rollerworld money so they start losing hope until Jamal starts putting the pieces together. After that, Jamal ends up finding the money but keeps it a secret because the group was having a complicated time and he didn’t want to stress anyone. They had no idea how much the money would change their lives, but they all felt the pressure building. In the end, the whole group had to decide whether finding the cash was worth all the secrets and drama it brought with it.

*My review

‘On My Block’ is a binge-watch worthy show and I love watching it in my free time. I like how it shows the complicated loving relationship of growing up in Los Angeles as a teenager. I also love how there’s drama in the show as it shows the reality of what goes on in Los Angeles.

If you like drama and comedy I recommend you watch this show. Overall, I give this a 9.5/10.

Thank you for reading my review and I hope you’re willing to watch this show🤍.

You can watch ‘On My Block’ on Netflix.

Movies/TV/Theaters

Movie review: ‘The Black Phone’

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By: Marina Yang

*Warning: This review contains spoilers

The movie ‘The Black Phone’ was made on June 24, 2022. It was directed by Scott Derrickson and co-written with C. Robert Cargill, based on the short story of the same name by Joe Hill.

‘The Black Phone’ is a thriller and supernatural horror movie that revolves around our protagonist Finney Blake, Gwen Blake (sister of the main character), the antagonist/kidnapper being called the ‘Grabber’, the 5 other victims (Bruce Yamada, Billy Showalter, Robin Arellano, etc.), and others.

The movie starts off with missing posters of kids, indicating that the kidnappings have been going on for a while already. Our main characters’ family, as others are, are more wary and scared about this situation as the disappearances pile up with no lead. Then, one day, when Finney is walking back home after going separate paths from his sister (context: Finney’s sister sleeps over at her friend’s house every Friday night), he sees an odd black van with a man coming out of it. The man drops his groceries, and as most people who pass by in this kind of situation, Finney helps the man. Then the stranger pops up a question, “You wanna see a magic trick?” which Finney as a kid is easily fantasized by and answers, sure/yes. The strange man opens his door, revealing several black balloons, and then snatching him into his truck to his house. Finney then has to survive the next few days in an enclosed basement room as the mysterious, broken-like, black phone rings with advice from the past victims to help him escape. Meanwhile Gwen desperately is trying to find an answer from her dreams to draw a conclusion of where her brother may be located or a hint on the killer’s identity.

The story mentions the undetermined/unrevealed details of missing cases. Throughout the movie, we never really know what the killer’s true intentions were with these kids and why he hinted at creepy things. It greatly speaks about the terror and how scary it is being in the position of the kidnapped victims (children in this case), and the strategic thinking you need to plan an escape in a confinement-like area. This is heightened by switching the perspectives between the worried families trying to search for their lost family member(s) to the kidnapped person struggling to reach back home safely.

I’d rate it a 4/5 because I thought it was a pretty good storyline, even if it had been based off of something else, the plot is interesting. Though I’d by lying if I said that I wouldn’t feel some kind of emotion if the killer was never caught in the movie. Especially if Gwen never had this psychological dream-reading trait of hers because she was so helpful throughout the movie, helping the officers make leads and get a step closer to solving the case.

You can watch this movie through a subscription on Peacock or renting/buying it from other services (Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, etc.).