By: Joey Briseno & Cade Sullivan

Rating: 3⁄5 stars

*Warning: This review contains some spoilers

An interesting perspective on the future, ‘The Creator’ is set in a world on the brink of total annihilation. Former soldier Joshua, determined to find his wife, embarks on an adventure that spans multiple visually impressive locations, with well-worked action sprinkled throughout the film. However, the film doesn’t take full advantage of its potential and ultimately left us wanting more.

Starring in this thought-provoking journey are, to name a few: John David Washington as Joshua, Gemma Chan as Joshua’s wife Maya, Madeline Yuna Voyles as Alphie, and Ken Watanabe as Harun. This roster proves itself as seasoned and well-cast, and the actors fill their roles very nicely.

The villain of this film is General Andrews, a ruthless man who commands the U.S. Military and wants to wipe out all AI. He recruits Joshua to destroy the AI Supermind Nirmatas new weapon, known simply as Alpha-O. Andrews is an emotionally cold character who feels embarrassment for AI’s nuclear attack on Los Angeles. This motivates him to want to rid the world of AI so that his country can feel safe again. Andrews, while being the main antagonist, doesn’t feature much in the film and isn’t given any development; his character remains the same until the end of the runtime. Andrews meets his end at the climax following the explosion of the space station NOMAD. While he is a serviceable antagonist, we feel like his character was a missed opportunity to have a more memorable villain, which would have helped elevate the film as a whole.

‘The Creator’ boasts strong special effects and quality cinematography, which helps to hide some of the film’s weaker aspects (plot, side characters). The film uses CGI where it is necessary, but it isn’t overbearing, as real-life locations and sets are utilized to help give the movie a better sense of realism. We especially liked the scenes shot in the made-up country of New Asia, as practical effects and green screen effects were used very well for the environment

As for music, ‘The Creator’ brought in an accomplished composer in Hans Zimmer to do the soundtrack, and it shows. Zimmer seems to always have the right tune for a situation, whether it be slower moments of character development and context or faster moments of action and spectacle. Traditional Asian music is incorporated into the score as well, making it seem all the more authentic.

‘The Creator’ is a thought provoking study on both the usefulness of AI and the negatives it can bring. As shown in the movie, one of the main characters, Alphie, is a powerful AI being who can wipe out humanity if she wishes but instead teams up with Joshua and uses her gift for good. The negative effects of AI shown here is most notably the nuclear attack on Los Angeles, which is the cause for most of the conflict that happens in the film.

However, there are a few aspects that negatively affect the viewing experience. One negative thing about this movie is while it’s an original story, it takes a lot of elements from more popular sci-fi works.

Another negative is the somewhat sluggish pacing; there are points in the film where the characters don’t do anything and are just waiting for something to happen. The plot is also underdeveloped and often unoriginal, as quite a few plot elements feel recycled from better movies like “Star Wars” and “Blade Runner”.

‘The Creator’ is a decent blockbuster movie, but frustratingly falls short of its potential, and it’ great cinematography and interesting ideas are undercut by the derivative plot and slow pacing. The antagonist and side characters here are underutilized, as most of the runtime is spent with Joshua and Alphie. The score impresses, as do the action sequences, but unfortunately the film isn’t able to establish itself as something worth a rewatch.

We would recommend the movie for “Star Wars” fans or science fiction fans in general, as it offers redeeming qualities for those interested in the genre. For those who aren’t as interested in the sci-fi genre, this movie may not be for you.

(‘The Creator’ is streaming now on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video)

By: Natalia Gercheva

As many of you may know, there are some popular movies that are going to be released at the end of 2023, and in 2024. In this article I will be going over what I think are some of the most significant movies coming out soon, and their release dates so you can mark your calendars and see them in theaters! Also, a link to the trailers will be attached under every movie! (All the release dates in the article are for the United States)

‘Wonka’ (December 15, 2023)

I wanted to start off by mentioning the movie ‘Wonka’ starring Timothée Chalamet which was released very recently! It is playing in many theaters around Minnesota, but the Highland Mann Theater is also playing it if you live in St. Paul, and want to watch it locally. The cast for this movie is extensive, featuring many famous celebrities. The movie is a prequel to Roald Dahl’s ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’. It follows the young Willy Wonka and his dream to make it big in the chocolate industry.

‘Wonka’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otNh9bTjXWg

‘Mean Girls’ (January 12, 2024)

As some of you may know, there is yet another ‘Mean Girls’ movie that will be released in 2024. It features some actors from the original movie such as Tina Fey and Tim Meadows. A couple of the new actors are Jenna Fischer and Christopher Briney. The plot also stays similar to the original movie, but it has more modern twists and new jokes. I think it will be interesting to see how it compares to the original movie, because it has such a big name to live up to.

‘Mean Girls’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFtdbEgnUOk

Kung Fu Panda 4′ (March 8, 2024)

‘Kung Fu Panda’ is one of my favorite childhood collections of movies, so I am actually really looking forward to this coming out, and watching it. I have never disliked one of the movies, and based on the trailer it seems to have an interesting storyline. It is great to watch with your family, and with people of all ages.

‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_inKs4eeHiI

‘Inside Out 2’ (June 14, 2024)

It has recently been announced that there will be an ‘Inside Out’ sequel, which also seems to have a good plot. The last movie came out in 2015, so I remember being just a kid when first watching it. The sequel explores Riley’s mind as she grows up as a teenager. It will feature new emotions, including Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment. I am excited to see the movie since it has been many years since the first, and I hope it does well.

‘Inside Out 2’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWavstJydZU

‘Despicable Me 4’ (July 3, 2024)

Adding to the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise, the fourth movie will continue the story of Gru, his wife Lucy, and their adopted kids. It is still not super clear what the plot will be about, but based on the trailer it looks like there is a new villain to take down, and Gru’s twin brother is still there to help. I love ‘Despicable Me’ because it was also one of my main childhood movies, although it seems that the quality of the plot has been going down after each new movie they release. I really hope that’s not the case for this movie, and for now I am looking forward to seeing it.

‘Despicable Me 4’ trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74RIFFCiQDk

There are a couple more honorable mentions that haven’t all been completely confirmed, but may come out in 2024 that I just didn’t write about in this article. Some examples are ‘Paddington in Peru’, ‘Rush Hour 4’, ‘Deadpool 3’, and ‘Wicked’. I hope this article gave you some things to look forward to in the new year!

By: Samson Belihu

Are you into fairy tales? Are you into a story you only could dream of or “wish” for? If you are, I recommend the movie called ‘Wish’.

If you still want to learn more about the movie, read the article, but Warning: spoilers ahead.

Disney had an idea of celebrating their 100th anniversary, and putting some reference to other Disney stories in the movie ‘Wish’.

The movie introduced our main character, Asha, who is a female protagonist with a fierce will, strong determination, and a desire to control of her own destiny.

One fateful night, she looks upon the stars when she catches a glimpse of a falling star and decides to take her chance by making a “wish”: a wish upon a star.

The wish she made was to reunite with her mother, her biggest supporter, and her 100-year-old grandfather, putting as much passion as she could into the wish.

But the wish was so big that it couldn’t be granted immediately and she had to go through a process. The process led her to meet the king of wishes “King Magnifico”.

She also meets his wife “Queen Amaya”. Amaya was kind and welcoming so Asha got close to her quickly.

That’s when she starts to see some shifts in King Magnifico who aspires to get more power.

Slowly, even his wife saw it, and she saw how corrupt he was becoming. That’s when we start to realize that King Magnifico is the villain of the story, and that’s when the story takes a twist for the worse.

A girl who wishes to get her loved one back still needs a king who “wishes” for more power, as he is her only chance. He is the only one that could grant her “wish”.

At the end, who shall get their wish truly granted?

Do you like Disney movies? If you do, ‘Wish’ is one you should go see. As Disney’s 100 anniversary movie, the graphics are good, but songs were a bit disappointing. I would give it 3.5/5 overall. You can see it in theaters. It is rated PG.

By: Joey Briseno & Cade Sullivan

Rating: 4⁄5 stars

‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I’ is the seventh addition to the long-running ‘Mission Impossible’ movie franchise. ‘Dead Reckoning’ is led by a capable cast, a familiar yet engaging plot and a powerful soundtrack. The film is a strong addition to the ‘Mission Impossible’ movie franchise and proves that solely action-centered films can succeed in modern cinema. While we haven’t seen any of the ‘Mission Impossible’ movies before, we were still able to follow along and be fully engaged in the franchise’s seventh entry.

Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, who once again occupies the starring role. Hunt undergoes an earth-spanning search for an apocalyptic weapon known as “The Entity”, meeting friends and foes along the way. Other characters include Ethan’s partner agent Grace (Hayley Atwell), Ethan’s best friend Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Gabriel (Esai Morales) a terrorist who serves as the antagonist of the film, and Paris (Pom Klementieff) a French assassin who works with Gabriel.

The antagonist of the film, Gabriel, is a mysterious figure whose aim is to find the key to “The Entity”. Interestingly, Gabriel also has history with Ethan Hunt, although his actions against the lead are not revealed. “The Entity”, which evolves to become a sentient mind, orders Gabriel to find its key and to eliminate Ethan Hunt. Gabriel is a ruthless terrorist who keeps a calm head and doesn’t let his emotions get the best of him. He seems to have no empathy and no regret for anyone he eliminates, to the extent that Ethan Hunt states that he seems to enjoy suffering. Gabriel survives to the end of the movie and will return in part 2.

‘Dead Reckoning’ is directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who has taken over as the director for Mission Impossible movies since MI4. McQuarrie is known for being one of the most proficient action directors in Hollywood, and this movie does not disappoint. Action is plentiful and well-choreographed and is up to par with the high intensity battles that the franchise is known for. The cinematography is quietly one of the better parts of the film, as the CGI is realistic and the beautiful locations are show off with wide shots.

‘Dead Reckoning’ is a fun spectacle to watch, especially during the globe-trotting action sequences. The villain is interesting and not one dimensional and the characters are, for the most part, fleshed out. Locations look great and the pacing is fast and engaging.

The soundtrack impresses as well, using the right melodies for every situation whether it be a heart-pumping action sequence or a somber, emotional break.

However, there were some things we didn’t like as much. The acting was inconsistent, but this may be the writer’s fault as the dialogue was sometimes wooden and boring. Furthermore, side characters like Luther Stickell were mostly lost in the rush, and some characters were given nothing to do.

‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I’ came out as a strong addition to the renowned ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise showing off a capable cast, interesting plot, and an amazing soundtrack. The movie delivers as a thrilling experience, offering gripping globe-trotting escapades and a calculating antagonist in Gabriel who remains a continuous threat to Ethan Hunt throughout the runtime. However amidst its strengths Dead Reckoning faces some drawbacks.