By: Isaac Basques

Drive (2011) is an action packed, raw thriller/drama with a story that will keep you on your toes.

Drive was released on September 16th, of 2011, and made $81.4 million in the box office. The movie is about a no named character (Ryan Gosling) who is a getaway driver for heists. When he meets his next door neighbor in his apartment (Carey Mulligan) and her young son, he
begins to develop a very close relationship with them. Once her husband (Oscar Isaac) comes home from prison, he gets himself caught up in a life or death situation between him and friends from prison, and it’s up to him and Ryan Gosling to set it right.

This movie is very unique cinematically and takes its action in a very different way pace wise. It
doesn’t make action its main priority; it’ll focus heavily on the characters’ relationships and makes you root for them more if something bad were to happen. But when the action actually occurs in the movie, it gets very intense and keeps you on your toes.

The soundtrack in this film is what really stood out to me; it has a very retro theme to it, but it takes place in modern time and it fits very well.

The acting in the movie is good and feels raw and realistic.

Although, there are moments in the movie where the characters will often have very long pauses between dialogue and it makes for a kind of awkward scene for the viewer. This kind of goes for the whole movie; it’ll have too long of pauses and it seems like they’re trying to stretch out the runtime a bit.

One thing I’ve somewhat noticed over time is that they don’t really give too much personality to the main antagonist. They give him personality, but just not enough. They kind of feel as if they were written mainly to be enemies of the film and no one else.

Other than a couple small issues with this film, I’d say it is highly worth watching and will keep you entertained.

I give it an 8/10

Ever since COVID-19 the world has been on quarantine, putting on pause the entertainment world. Many things have been canceled like, professional sports, movie releases, and concerts. It would be an understatement if I said I was bored, so here’s some of my favorite movies to watch in quarantine.

While we are on quarantine I’ve had a lot of time to catch up on the movies I haven’t watched in the past few years. Here are some recommendations for movies to watch that can be found on major streaming platforms like Hulu, Netflix, and Disney+. 

To fit the mood, you can start off by watching movies that are about apocalypses, and the world ending.

2012 is about a man trying to keep his family safe as strings of natural disasters engulf the world.

If you’re looking for an apocalyptic movie The Train To Busan is your best choice. Produced in South Korea, this movie follows a father and daughter on their way to Busan from Seoul. When a zombie apocalypse breaks out, they are forced to make difficult decisions on their journey to escape the zombies (Uses subtitles).

During this time I have also decided to binge watch fandom movie series like The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. You can watch the MCU and Star Wars on Disney+ and can buy Harry Potter on Amazon Prime. 

Since the movie theaters have closed temporarily many movies haven’t been able to come out. Some movie companies have turned to putting their movies on streaming services. You can now watch Onward and Frozen 2 on Disney+ if you have a subscription to the streaming service.

On Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Vudu you can rent Trolls World Tour for twenty dollars.

With other movies that were meant to come out March through May, many companies have come out with new release dates for the movies. Disney’s Mulan will be released on July 4, 2020 and Black Widow will be released on November 6, 2020. 

Levius is an a steampunk action anime available on Netflix that features a kid named Levius Cromwell battling other opponents in a sport called “metal boxing,” which is just normal boxing, but they use robot arms. Unlike most anime, this show uses 3D models instead of 2D drawings. The models are done really well and gives the show a sense of energy that you don’t see in other shows of the same type.

The plot of Levius revolves around an upcoming metal boxer named Levius. Metal boxers have metal arms filled with a special water called Agartha Water, that when mixed with a drop of the users blood, turns into steam and falls under their control like a natural extension of their body. When contained inside a prosthetic arm, it’s like the person using it has a normal arm that can hit a lot harder. I like the inclusion of Agartha Water as a plot element because it makes the metal arms seem realistic when the show takes place in an 1800s time period.

Levius lost his arm in a war before the series started, and after moving to his uncle Zack’s house, they bonded through their love of boxing. Soon afterwards, Levius became a rising star in the metal boxing world. The premise is simple enough, a lot like you would see in any other sports anime. But what sets this show apart is the characters.

The supporting cast, which consists of Levius’s one-eyed uncle Zack, his personal mechanic Bill, and his rival Natalia are all great and unique enough that they don’t get boring, but the real star of the show is Levius himself. Right away in the first episode we learn that he doesn’t really know why he boxes, and that he is looking for a reason through the sport. Watching him trying to discover his reason for fighting through the show is easily the most intriguing part of it.

Also, the action in Levius is amazing. Even though every single fight takes place in the same boxing ring and it’s not like they can have weapons in there, the animators still make each fight unique, with each boxer having a unique fighting style and every single fight turning out differently. Each punch has energy you can feel, and the sound effects make you feel the action.

So, if you’re into anime, steampunk, or just like fast paced action shows, then you’ll love Levius. For those into deeper plots and more intricate storylines, Levius’s relationship with his friends and his rival boxers keeps the story moving, and the music is top tier when it comes to a score for a show. 

My only real complaint I have for this show is that one of the episodes near the climax feels like it’s just filler and interrupts the final fight, but because it is so intense, I think it works, and doesn’t interrupt the action. Other than that, sometimes the lips of the characters seem like they don’t match up with the voices, but I think that’s just my brain being too slow.

My final rating for this show is a 9/10.

Who doesn’t love a good war movie? They’re raw, intense and the fact that it’s based on an historical event makes it much better. 1917 in particular stands out from the rest and I believe you’ll love to know why.

1917 came out on December 4, 2019, and made $323.8 million in the box office. The movie is a dramatic narrative film based in World War I and follows two British soldiers by the names of Lance Cpl. Schofield and Lance Cpl. Blake. These two men are given a mission to give orders to another team that the battle they are about to fight is a trap, and they’re about to lose 1,600 of their comrades, along with Cpl. Blake’s own brother. It is up to these two men to go and stop this mission before time runs out.

This movie may sound somewhat simple, but it takes big twists that makes the audience feel more hooked and engaged to the film.

One thing that really stands out, and probably is the most known element about this film, is that they make it look like the whole movie was filmed in one single shot. This makes the audience feel stuck in the movie and it feels as if the story wouldn’t have an end. They also cut scenes in a very clever way, they have the character they’re focusing on walk into a very dark room and that’s when the next scene starts.

The acting in 1917 is very good for the most part. The writing for the characters that the actors play on the other hand can be a bit questioning. For example, the main character would see an enemy and wouldn’t shoot, they would rather wait for the enemy to shoot at them. Or they would try and save the enemy from a freak accident. Moments like these are somewhat irritating because the movie is meant to focus on a soldier who is meant to do their duty and they seem way too soft on their enemy and almost see them as an ally.

One thing I believe really stood out in this film is the color scheme. It has a realistic tone to it but still stays on the grayish and dark green spectrum, which I believe really fits with the time period it’s meant to take place in and the location of the film. 

The film does a really good job at making the audience nervous. They have the movie feel as if it’s going to have a huge blast of action at any moment or that the character next to the main character will get shot with a big loud bang to make everyone jump. It makes the whole audience feel uneasy, and I think the soundtrack plays a big part in this feeling.

The soundtrack is very slow during a majority of the film and it really fits with the timing and moments. Though sometimes it seems to get really dramatic and too intense and it seems they’re trying a bit too hard for the audience to get really into a scene. A majority of the time though, the slow and eerie music makes the movie feel a lot more intense.

Overall, I believe this movie did a solid job at making itself unique and have an interesting take on the war film genre. 8/10