By: Salman Said

After a lengthy production, casting, and director changes, the latest DCEU film ‘The Batman’ has finally arrived. To say that this film lived up to expectations is an understatement. Robert Pattinson, who recently returned to starring in mainstream films, is playing Bruce Wayne/Batman. Previously, Ben Affleck was supposed to direct and play Batman in a highly anticipated solo film back in 2016, but the project fell through after he dropped out due to personal issues and creative differences. 

Director Matt Reeves decided to pick up the project. Reeves had a vision of a more inept Batman, struggling to let go of the psychological trauma he carried after his parent’s murder. Fighting crime in an unforgiving city; rife with corruption, drugs, and poverty. Reeves decided to have this film be disconnected from the DCEU and its characters; branching out in an entirely new world with new actors and a more realistic, thriller take on recent superhero films. This turned out to be a brilliant and refreshing decision.

**Spoilers if you haven’t seen the film yet**

The film begins on Halloween night and takes place over the course of six days. This could be a reference to the biblical verse that God created the earth and heavens in six days. During act one, the public is shown to have an innate distaste for Batman and vigilantism in Gotham entirely. During his first scene, we see Batman save an innocent man from an attack, and as he tries to assist the man, the man begins to cry out, “Please don’t hurt me.”

 The public’s opinion completely shifts by the end of the final act. When Batman saves a woman, she latches onto his arm and refuses to let go, preventing the paramedics from carrying her to safety; as a result, Batman’s perspective shifts. During his final monologue, Batman addressed how he used to believe he needed to enact his vengeance on behalf of the city; on the crime that permeated it. But he now believes that he must be their hope, not their vengeance.

“On the seventh day, God finished his work and rested”. Even before the film ends, we see that Batman isn’t finished. He hasn’t reached his seventh day yet, and Gotham is facing new threats. In Arkham Asylum The Riddler is making more maniacal friends than himself, Gotham lacks a district attorney and a police commissioner, and The Penguin is looking to take over the Iceberg Lounge and the rest of Carmine Falcone’s assets. Batman enters a new phase in the next movie, with hope for that 7th day.

This Gotham is the most realistic and grimey version of Gotham we’ve ever seen. Batman’s introduction monologue; how criminals view Batman as a shadow constantly lurking upon the sins of man; and characters like Penguin and Jim Gordon all bring an authenticity that Batman movies lacked before. This all on top of the fact that we receive an amazing acting performance from Colin Farrell’s Penguin and Paul Dano’s Riddler.

The film made numerous references to potential villains in future films. Carmine Falcone assassinates a reporter named Edward Elliot during the second act. This could be the father of Thomas Elliot, a well-known Gothamite, surgeon, and Bruce Wayne’s long-time friend. In the comics, Elliot was the son of a wealthy, abusive father who frequently beat Elliot in front of his wife. Elliot had enough of his mother and father and cut the tire on their car, causing his father to be killed in a car accident. But after an intensive surgery, Thomas Wayne was able to save Elliot’s mother. 

Elliot becomes the villain Hush, in order to exact revenge on the Waynes for saving his mother. He murders innocent people and steals their identities. He then grafts victims’ faces and fashions them to look exactly like Bruce Wayne’s. The word “Hush” appears in the film, written in red letters after we see the article about Edward Elliot’s death.

This was one of the more popular references fans were able to spot, but other ones were seen. During the final act, Batman injects a green serum into his leg; this could be the highly-addictive muscle stimulating drug, Venom. This hints to the villain Bane, who also uses the same drug in the comics; (Paralyzing Batman). Gotham also has an empty spot for District Attorney; this possibly could be filled by Harvey Dent. Finally the Arkham Asylum patient who spoke briefly with the Riddler; many believe it’s either Joker, Two-Face, or possibly Hush. All characters that have noticeable face deformities. 

We have a lot to look forward to in the near future, and this movie quite possibly brings DC back into the conversation for best superhero cinematography out right now. It’s been a while since DC was able to beat Marvel in the box office. We might see a change in that in the near future.

By: Eva Olson

In the new Marvel TV show, ‘Hawkeye’, a new character is introduced into the MCU, Kate Bishop, played by Hailee Steinfeld. She and Hawkeye must team up to defeat a villain trying to kill Kate because she was forced to wear the Ronin suit from ‘Avengers: Endgame’ to stop an attack.

I loved how sarcastic and witty Kate was with Clint and other characters. Kate and Clint had a really funny dynamic. Her backstory was very interesting and I liked how it was tied back to previous movies.

It was interesting how a character from the Marvel TV show, ‘Daredevil’, was incorporated into the show. I liked all the plot twists and unexpected turns in this show. It really kept you intrigued because you couldn’t binge watch it when it came out considering its episodes were only released once a week on Wednesdays.

To watch this show you do need to have watched some Marvel movies, especially ‘Black Widow’, ‘Avengers: Endgame’, and ‘The Avengers’. A character from ‘Black Widow’ makes an appearance and this show finishes off the cliffhanger in the ‘Black Widow’ post credit scene. There are also many references to these movies.

I would also recommend watching this sometime around Christmas, because Christmas is integral to the storyline. They did a good job of making it festive but not completely revolving around Christmas.

This show did a great job of showing how Clint is doing after Natasha’s death. It gave Clint and his family more screen time which was fun to watch.

Overall, I really liked this show and would recommend it to Marvel fans. It was really entertaining and I loved all the new characters. I would give it a 9.5/10 rating. You can watch this show on Disney+

By: Salman Said

The official trailer of ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ has arrived, and fans are excited. The trailer was the number one trending video on YouTube. The movie is directed by Sam Rami and is set to release on May 6th, 2022.

It takes place chronologically after ‘Spider-Man No Way Home’. *If you haven’t watched the new Spider-Man movie, spoiler alerts are in place*. The movie’s main-conflict revolves around the collapsing multiverse after Dr. Strange fails to make everyone forget Peter Parker is Spider-Man (in order to save the multiverse from collapsing he made everyone forget who Peter Parker was altogether).

In the trailer, we see that his actions had detrimental after-effects, and now many different characters are entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe like America Chavez. Her powers allow her to enter different multiverses and it looks like she’ll be playing a big role in the movie. We’ve already seen both previous Spider-Men and their respective villains, but now it looks like they aren’t the only ones arriving.

The movie trailer opens with Doctor Strange waking up from a nightmare; interestingly, the villain of the film was speculated to be Nightmare, but after COVID pushbacks and a change of directors, it appears that the initial storyline line and antagonist might’ve changed. Nightmare was Doctor Strange’s original enemy, and his powers include manipulating the dreams and nightmares of those he haunts (like Freddy Krueger). He also has complete control over the nightmare world he creates, as well as conscious control over the bodies of those he possesses. However, a shift of setting in the trailer reveals another plot line altogether without him.

During the trailer, we see Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch), played by Elizabeth Olsen, who we haven’t seen since ‘WandaVision’, the hit Disney+ series. She’s become a scorned mother on a mission to find her children again, potentially in the multiverse itself after losing them. The last time we’d seen her she was mastering chaos magic and had fully embraced her sinister side. In the trailer we heard an unsettling and ominous comment made by her to Doctor Strange, “You break the rules, you become the hero. I do it, I become the enemy.” The statement appears to be a set-up for the heartbroken mother to do whatever it takes to find her children, even if it means destroying the multiverse itself.

The Fox-Disney merger was a big topic back in 2019 and something all Marvel fans were excited about. Finally the MCU got its prized characters back including the X-Men, Fantastic 4, and the popular red anti-hero Deadpool. This adds to the excitement that fans already had when we saw Deadpool interacting with MCU’s Korg during a trailer for Ryan Reynolds’s new movie, ‘Free Guy’. It’s been almost 4 years since the merger and fans are wondering when we’ll get to see these characters team up with our favorite MCU characters.

The wait might not be as long as we think, because during the trailer we hear the voice of Patrick Stewart, also known as Professor X, the leader of the X-Men. This has many people wondering if the multiverse opening has allowed these characters to arrive in the MCU just like it had with Andrew Garfield and Tobey Macguire’s Spider-Men.

Though it’s all speculation, many fans are excited to see characters like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool, Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier, or another Iron Man played by Tom Cruise.

Nonetheless, many moviegoers are thrilled about this film. It has the potential to pull in enormous numbers at the box office, as we witnessed the latest film ‘Spider-Man No Way Home’ hit the $1 billion mark in global sales, making it the first movie to do so since the pandemic began two years ago.

Marvel has had a significant influence on the film industry, and it’s clear that many fans are delighted to see their favorite actors and actresses perform their iconic characters on the big screen.

By: Samera Adams

‘Nappily Ever After’ is a Netflix movie. The movie consists of different sections. Each section identifies a part of the main character’s hair journey.

The movie starts with the main character, Violet, as a child playing by a pool. She is the only kid that’s not allowed in by her parents. Then one of the little boys in the pool asks her to jump in. Without hesitation she goes in for the dive, not knowing what would happen to her hair.

Her hair fizzed up. She was now getting teased by all of the other kids in the pool. Her mom then grabs her and shoves her in the car and never looks back.

Fast forward to the first section called “Straightened”. Violet is grown now. Her mother came over early in the morning because Violet found a ring box in her boyfriend’s pocket. They then proceed to do her hair to get ready for her “surprise” proposal.

On Violet’s way to work, right before her dinner, she gets sprayed with water by children playing. She then freaks out and runs to a nearby salon.

While getting her hair rinsed, instantly her hair falls out. They then figure out that the little girl who helps out gave her a relaxer instead of shampoo.

She was angry and they proceeded to put a weave in.

Dinner rolls around. Clint, her boyfriend, pulls out the box that they found earlier. She opens it. It is not a ring. It’s a dog chain. He got her a dog, not a ring.

They break out into an argument. Violet then realizes that he isn’t going to marry her because she doesn’t get out of her comfort zone. She’s “too perfect”.

Out of all the stress she shaves her hair.

She realizes that her straightened hair was society’s reflection on beauty.
The movie then goes on to Violet trying new things to her hair, appearance, attitude, etc.

This movie was meant to be a confidence booster. I didn’t reveal too much information about the movie, just in case, y’all would like to watch it.

It gets a 5-star rating because it shows that you are enough.

By: Samera Adam

‘Love Jacked’ is a Netflix movie that stars Amber West, as main character Maya, and Canadian actor Shamier Anderson.

*Spoiler alert*

The movie starts with Shamier, who plays Malcolm, stealing from his friend Tyrelle. He wants to give the money to the pregnant wife of a man who lost all his money in a game of pool to Tyrelle. This causes Tyrelle to then be on the hunt for Malcolm to get his money back.

The main character Maya, is an artist who takes a trip to Africa to get some inspiration for her art, against her father’s will. She still proceeds to go on her 3-week trip. On her trip, she gets engaged but returns single.

When Maya lands back in Los Angeles she takes a trip to a local diner where she meets Malcolm.

When Maya meets Malcolm she tells him all about her trip to South Africa and how she caught her fiancé cheating on her but couldn’t tell her dad because she would just prove that her father was right all along about her not being ready to be married after just a short time.

After Maya is done ranting, she leaves and Tyrelle pops up on Malcolm, so Malcolm jumps into Maya’s car to escape. They then come up with a plan of if Maya helps Malcolm escape Tyrelle, then he has to play the role of her fiancé, Mtumbie. After the honeymoon though, “Mtumbie” would die and Malcolm would just leave the city.

The family eventually meets “Mtumbie” and they all form bonds with him and end up loving him.

The wedding happens, so then it is time for the plan to come to an end.

Maya tells her family that he had an accident and she returns home where they host his funeral.

At his funeral, the real Mtumbie comes and proposes to Maya but everyone is confused. Then “Mtumbie” comes ‘‘back from the dead” and professes his love for Maya.

Maya then comes clean with everything and they take a family honeymoon trip to Africa.

This movie is for sure a 5/5 because it contains romance with Maya and Malcolm eventually falling in love. There is also comedy. After all, a Canadian man acts as a South African, while faking an accent throughout the whole thing.

By: Eva Olson

‘Don’t Look Up’ is a comedy/disaster film about a Michigan State grad student, Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), who makes a discovery with the help of an astronomy professor, Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio), of a comet that is heading straight towards earth that will hit and destroy the planet in just over six months. They must try and convince the world that this comet is real and that they need to do something about it before they are out of time.

This movie had a lot of hints/references to real life politics. It was frustrating to watch how even when the world was ending there were still fights about politics. A lot of hard topics were present but there was also a good amount of comedy which made it a little easier to watch.

A big theme in this movie was social media and how it was used to spread news and how so many people were sharing their own opinions about the comet which I thought was very realistic. Another big concept in this movie was how people with a lot of power and money act and how they use that.

There were a lot of big names in this movie, almost to the point where it seemed forced, but I think overall they pulled it off well. All of the actors played their characters very well. They were all so different from each other which made it really entertaining to see how they interacted and teamed up to attempt to stop the comet. The antagonists of the movie did a great job getting you frustrated and annoyed with them.

I really enjoyed this movie and thought it was very engaging and compelling. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for a movie that will get you thinking. Overall, I would give this movie a 9.5/10 rating. This movie is only available on Netflix.

Michelle’s season has come to an end, and so ended the story of the second Bachelorette of color.

The first person to have a date was Brandon. He met Michelle’s parents, and they instantly loved Brandon. They discussed his willingness to relocate to Minnesota and his ability to work remotely.

Nayte was up next. He met her parents and sister. Her family was not impressed with Nayte; he was struggling to communicate including his willingness to commit.

After each of the bachelor’s dates they each got a date with Michelle one last time.

Brandon and Michelle went jet skiing. Later in the day, he gave Michelle his favorite sweatshirt.

The next day Nayte and Michelle went on a date and their date was focused on sharing feelings. During their date, she pushed him to share his feelings and by the end of the date he shared those feelings. This comforted Michelle.

When their date was over, they each returned to their room. Michelle got a note from Brandon which included the lines: “A world without you is a world I fear to face,” “The kind of love where I will always place your happiness above mine,” and “I will love you forever.”

The next day each of the men went out to choose a ring for Michelle. Now it’s proposal time.

Brandon steps out to join Michelle on the beach first, and since he went first he’s going to get rejected. He gave a long speech to Michelle, but Michelle said, “My heart is pushing me in a different direction and I have to go with what I feel.” Brandon said he understood and he went home in tears.

Nayte was up and he vowed to never let Michelle go; he got down on one knee and proposed. Michelle said yes.

Personally, Nayte wasn’t my first choice. She should have gone with Brandon, as he seemed more open and communicative with feelings, whereas with Nayte, he seemed like a player and she had to push him to get him to share his feeling for her.

The proposal to her seemed forced; he seemed unsure of his decision to get down on one knee.

For more information, please visit:

• https://variety.com/2021/tv/recaps/the-bachelorette-recap-season-18-finale-1235141887/
• https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2021/12/21/the-bachelorette-finale-clayton-bachelor-michelle-engaged-nayte-brandon/8979819002/

By: Annika Getz

Autoheart is a London-based Indie-pop group. Their debut album ‘Punch’, was released in 2013, and features 12 songs. I’ll start by saying that this is one of my favorite albums. With captivating lyrics, catchy hooks, and great vocals, it really is the whole package.

The album opens with “Anniversary”, a great opening song. It sets up the general vibe of the album. An catchy song with an even catchier bridge and great lyrics, which gives you a baseline for what’s to come, without hitting peak lyricism yet.

Following “Anniversary” is “Factories”. This is my personal favorite from the album. The guitar work had me hooked from the second the song started. The lyrics have, to me, the perfect amount of ambiguity. The chorus “I am bride and groom in a darkened room, marrying anguish with one last wish. Will you and I make a breakthrough?” is a good example of such ambiguity. Once again the bridge is my favorite part of the song. The buildup is amazing and the lyrics “Do you recall with our vigor, with the pistol we can trigger, we can violate the liquor on the floor” are so pleasing to the ears.

“Control” is the third song. While I do enjoy this song, it isn’t really as memorable as many of the other songs on the album. It is, however, the first song on the album that isn’t super upbeat and fast-paced. I think it serves as a great set-up for the next song on the album, “Agoraphobia”.

“Agoraphobia” is much slower than the first three songs on the album, bringing a much different feeling. I find the melody to be slightly haunting, though beautiful nonetheless. “Agoraphobia” is a song which to me, perfectly encapsulates the feeling of not having it in you to get out of bed.

Fully shifting gears, the next song “Lent” returns to the fast-paced, upbeat vibe of the first few songs. “Lent” is one of Autoheart’s most popular songs and good reason.

“Moscow” is another one of my favorites from ‘Punch’. With an easy-to-remember melody, and great background guitar, it’s another song that’s just really pleasing to the ears.

“The Sailor Song” was their debut single, originally released in 2009, then re-released on ‘Punch’. This is a fan favorite for a lot of Autoheart fans, but isn’t super memorable to me personally. I find myself more interested in what I see as the catchier of the songs on the album. This isn’t to say I don’t like this song, because I really do, just not quite as much as some of the others.

Anyone like me, who finds themselves slightly underwhelmed with “The Sailor Song” will hopefully be revived by “Hungover in the City of Dust” the eighth song on the album. Once again, a bit of a slower song compared to many others, but something about it has me fully captivated throughout the song. Once again I find the bridge to be my favorite part of the song.

“January” and “The Witching Hour” are both great songs which I can’t seem to get into. I don’t skip them, since while I’m actively listening to them, I still enjoy them. They just aren’t very memorable in my opinion. I don’t seem to be alone in this opinion, since I never see too much about either of them online.

At risk of sounding repetitive, “Santa Fe” is another one of my favorites from the album. It is, like many other songs, catchy with great guitar work. I’m not quite doing it justice in my description, because it’s hard to encapsulate a song in writing, so you’ll either have to trust me, or listen to it yourself.

“Heartbreaker” is the final song on the album, and once again I find myself having trouble describing it well. It’s beautifully tragic, and is a great closer, even if it doesn’t really match the vibe of the rest of the album.

Overall, this album makes me feel like I’m the main character in an indie coming of age film in the best way possible.

For more information please visit:

• https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Lm1CMoa8VOCBCLZesAcvc

In this episode, Michelle meets the families of her final four; Nayte Olukoya, Joe Coleman, Brandon Jones, and Rodney Mathews. She first meets Brandon’s family. Before meeting his family, they went on a little date. After she met Brandon’s mom, dad, and brother, they were all supportive of Brandon and Michelle’s journey to find love. 

Up next was Rodney. They were nice to Michelle, they asked a few questions, and talked about life after the show.

Next was Joe. His sisters-in-law were a little tough on Michelle but they eventually came around at the end.

The final date was with Nayte. His family were not fans of how the show works; they had concerns about if they end up together how they would make the relationship work in the real world.

After she met all four men’s families, she gave her three roses to Nayte, Joe, and Brandon, which means Rodney went home.

The next episode was the “Men Tell All” episode where Michelle comes face to face with 15 of the men she sent packing. The first feud that we didn’t see at the end of the show was with Will and Peter. The two still had their feud going, and they ended up working it out on the stage. 

Up next was Martin who explained all the controversial things he said while on the show. He then got accused of having a girlfriend while he was on the show. After all that drama, the guys got a chance to see Michelle and get closure on why she had to send them home. 

At the end of the episode, they announced Clayton, who Michelle sent home right before hometowns, was the new bachelor. They also showed a preview of his upcoming season. 

Michelle’s journey to find love continued on December 14, after the dramatic “Men Tell All” episode, as she headed with her three remaining men to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

The first date of the episode went to Brandon. They went horseback riding, and during the dinner portion of the date Brandon told Michelle that he loved her and Michelle told him that she was falling in love with him. Their date ended the next morning with breakfast in bed. 

The second date went to Joe. They went zip lining but Michelle made it clear that she still needed to learn about him. The next morning, Michelle told him that she could see a future with him.

The last date was with Nayte. The two went on a ride on a catamaran, and during their dinner date, Nayte told Michelle that he was certain about her and that he was falling in love with her. 

Later, Michelle sends Joe home.

Next up, is the three-hour season finale of ‘The Bachelorette’. Who will she choose to propose to her?

For more information, please visit:

• https://www.google.com/amp/s/parade.com/1308656/korinmiller/who-went-home-on-the-bachelorette-tonight-michelle-young-fantasy-suites-2021/amp/
• https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vulture.com/amp/article/the-bachelorette-men-tell-all-recap-season-18.html