By: Ava Olson

This movie, starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne (Batman), follows his journey of training with Ra’s Al Guhl and the League of Shadows then leaving to try and help Gotham. This movie shows his backstory including how he gets his suit and how and why he becomes Batman.

I really enjoyed how much we learned about Bruce Wayne and his struggles throughout this movie, like his childhood trauma. It was cool to see how he got his suit and batmobile and why he chose the bat as his symbol.

I liked how the movie really showed that Batman was still learning and getting the hang of being Batman. He still made mistakes along the way and took a lot of risks.

The main villain in this movie was Scarecrow, played by Cillian Murphy. He did a great job and I thought his weapon, the psychedelic drug that causes people to experience their deepest traumas, was very interesting and unique.

The plot was very engaging and had many different layers to it. It kept me intrigued throughout the whole film and I never felt bored. I found all the different characters very compelling and I thought the casting was pretty well done.

The visual effects look a little funny watching it today because of how much we’ve improved with them, but they were good for their time. I loved watching this and seeing all the differences between all the different Batman’s including the newest one starring Robert Pattinson.

Overall, I liked this movie and thought it did a great job of showing people Batman’s backstory. This movie is the first of the Christoper Nolan Batman movies so you don’t need to watch anything beforehand to understand it. I would recommend this to any action movie fan or people who want to know more about Batman. I would give this movie 3.5/5 stars. You can watch this movie on Netflix or HBO Max.

By: Samera Adam

‘Tall Girl 2’ is a Netflix movie. 

Jodi and Dunkleman’s relationship begins on a sweet note, with the two exchanging romantic moments. As a result of her speech at the Homecoming dance, Jodi has become one of the most popular students at school, high-fiving other students instead of being invisible. 

Her increased celebrity and wanting to appear in the spring musical, proved to be major stumbling obstacles in her relationship with Dunkleman. 

She is battling her own concerns and suffering from anxiety attacks. Jodi is exited and nervous after earning the lead role of Kim in the musical ‘Bye Bye Birdie.’ 

Her insecurities are speaking to her through an inner voice. In ‘Bye Bye Birdie’, Tommy plays the lead alongside Jodi.

Jodi is a typical person dealing with adolescent issues. She carries a lot of weight on her shoulders between the person she’s dating, her pals, bullying, the musical, and her worried parents. She’s under a lot of stress and is very exhausted. 

By focusing on her self-assurance, Jodi was able to silence that negative voice. She prefers to be ruled by her thoughts rather than the other way around. Her parents go above and beyond to ensure their children’s success. 

Others are dealing with their own insecurities, while Jodi is fighting negative thoughts in her head.

Harper, Jodi’s older sister, is attempting to show that she can do more than compete in beauty pageants. Fareeda, Jodi’s best friend, hopes that her parents would support her dream of becoming a fashion designer. The relationship between Dunkleman, Fareeda, and Jodi is frequently questioned. 

Overall, I think that the movie was a little boring because it had too many unnecessary details. So I’d have to give it a rating of 3/5

By: Abdihakim Mohamoud

The famous entrepreneurial themed reality show ‘Shark Tank’ is notorious for enhancing some of the biggest businesses out there. But what exactly does being on the show do for entrepreneurs?

Landing a deal with one of the sharks can obviously lead to tremendous exposure for your company. However, even appearing on the show at all is extremely beneficial marketing-wise. TJ Hale, producer of the ‘Shark Tank Podcast’, reportedly said that even an appearance on the show results in $4-5 million in marketing exposure.

Another former ‘Shark Tank’ appearance, Derek Pacque, is a perfect example of not needing funding to succeed. He turned down a deal from billionaire Mark Cuban for 33% of his coat business, claiming his company wouldn’t grow after the deal. The “Shark Tank Effect” worked its magic, and Pacque ended up at Fashion Week for his first gig.

In recent studies, a mind-boggling 94% of ‘Shark Tank’ appearances were successful after their feature, solidifying that the most obvious reward from appearing is sales. PostureNow and The Bev Buckle did $50,000 and a whopping $300,000+ after they were featured on the show.

Appearing on ‘Shark Tank’, not just produced thousands in sales for entrepreneurs, but also attracted investors who watched the show. However, it is required that business owners must give up 5% of their company just to appear on the show—without guaranteeing traffic to their company.

Not every entrepreneur leaves the show better off than when they arrived. An example of a relatively bad deal is Jay Kriner, who took the shark’s deal, giving up half of his company for $50,000, seemingly undervaluing his equity, and basically giving his company away.

All in all, the majority of entrepreneurs believe that an appearance is very well worth it and beneficial. However, business owners must be aware of the risks that can come with it, and be mindful of the deals they are being offered, and whether it’s worth it or not.

For more information, please visit:

• https://nwirc.com/shark-tank-effect-entrepreneurship/

Anna Sorokin is a Russian-born woman from Germany. Sorokin was born in Russia and moved to Germany when she was young. She later moved to Paris for an internship for the European art and culture magazine ‘Purple’, and relocated to New York in 2014.

Sorokin was sent to jail in 2019 for stealing over $200,000. Sorokin passed herself off as a German heiress by the name of Anna Delavey, with a net worth of 67 million dollars. She defrauded socialites, financial institutions, and hotels.

She was sentenced to jail on eight counts: three counts of grand larceny, and one count of attempted grand larceny. She was released in February 2021, on good behavior and six weeks later she was arrested again for overstaying her visa.

The Netflix series ‘Inventing Anna’ is a nine-part episode created by Shonda Rhimes. The episode starts with a disclaimer “This whole story is completely true. Except for all the parts that are made up.” The show follows the journalist Jessica Pressler, who worked for ‘New York Magazine’, as she investigates Sorokin’s story. The series attempts to tell her story through her friends, or people who thought they were. 

The show shows how Sorokin was able to scam everyone. Her character is portrayed as a visionary who wants to become a businesswoman. The series shows her as a smart woman and genius, but also a master manipulator, a liar, and a hustler who took advantage of others’ kindness.

After the release of the show, she was either loved or hated by the world. Some see her as a hero who felt that the rich got what they deserved, and for others, they felt sorry for the people she scammed. Despite being proven guilty, she said her Anna Delavey Foundation was legit, and that she is not a dumb socialite but a businesswoman.

To watch the Netflix trailer for ‘Inventing Anna’, please visit:

• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=65xa8TG2G8o

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.