Category: Film Reviews

Posted in Film Reviews

Black Panther Review

Posted on by Elizabeth Han Hopkins

These last few weeks, even months there has been a lot of hype about a particular film. A film that has recently blown box office records. It’s Black Panther. As this was the biggest film to see this month, that is exactly what I did.

It started off with the history of the Black Panther and the various tribes within the nation of Wakanda, and how three out of the four tribes became united under Black Panther. With the Jabari Tribe choosing to rule themselves and keep it traditional while the others advanced in technology.

This doesn’t mean the other tribes abandoned their tradition and culture. The traditional element can be seen in the dancing and clothing worn within the ceremonies, which was a nice touch. The waterfall backdrop was a stunning place for the ceremony and first fight scene between Jabari Tribe leader M’Baku and  T’Challa (Black Panther).

The film then looks into current moral and social issues such as people’s greed and how neglect can cause a build-up of hate.

Black Panther himself displayed strong morals and good leadership. We get to see another side to Black Panther that we don’t see in Civil War, and get to understand his character and personality better.

At the beginning of the film, it is all about protecting Wakanda and not letting outsiders in, but by the end, it’s about what they can do to help others. T’Challa gives a strong speech at the end that rounds off the film nicely.

Marvel has continued its portrayal of strong women in Black Panther by making not only a whole tribe of female warriors but also by including these amazingly strong women as main characters within the film:

Shuri, Black Panther’s sister, and the Wakandan Princess. She was the inventor and was as humorous as she was intelligent.  She constantly wanted to help her brother and was not afraid to get stuck in and fight. She was definitely one of my favourite characters in the film. Plus her lab is amazing.

Then there was Black Panther’s love interest: Nakia, a spy for Wakanda and on a mission to help those less fortunate than herself. She was portrayed as strong-minded and righteous, never straying from what she believed was right.

Then there’s Okoye, who is head of the Dora Milaje (Female warriors/special forces). She is loyal to her country and its king. She never wavers from this and is not scared to question the king or have a laugh at his expense but will protect him with her life if she is able to. She is the Black Panther’s right-hand, who he can trust with all things that need to be done. She is also considered the strongest warrior in Wakanda.

The film even displays a little bit of karma; with the villain, Erik Stevens a.k.a Killmonger being a consequence of T’Challa’s father’s actions.  It is also demonstrated when M’Baku helps T’Challa, who spares his life at the beginning.

I have to say that M’Baku is a character who grows on you and is a humorous character who helps lighten the mood.

All in all definitely worth the watch.

Posted in Film Reviews

Spiderman: Homecoming Review

Posted on by Elizabeth Han Hopkins

For those of you who are wondering whether or not to go and watch Spiderman: Homecoming, you definitely should go and watch it. It is an epic film. I was lucky enough to have great company with me and some yummy Fentimans curisosity cola, which if you haven’t tried yet, you should.

Back onto the film. If you’ve been following the avengers or marvel films, you will have seen Tom Holland as Spiderman already as the quirky, funny, and energetic 14 year old version of Spiderman who really wants to be an Avenger.

It has some interesting points of view and selfie mode camera angles when Spiderman was filming the ‘home movie’ part of it, mainly during the start of the movie. This I believe added to his character and allowed in a way the audience to see it from his view. It also makes him more relatable.

Tom Holland as Spiderman:
I think he has become one of my favourites. His character went through many different stages throughout the film and made him more likable as the film went on. He clearly is the youngest of the superheroes, which can be seen as Iron Man becomes the fatherly figure, sprouting advice every now and again; which like many teens, Spiderman chooses to ignore and gets himself into all sorts of trouble as a result.

Zendaya as Michelle Jones (MJ):
Her character does whatever she wants, when she wants. You see her turning up throughout the film around school, in the debate club, at the party and even in detention. She seems intelligent, quick-witted, observant, uncaring and gives Peter the finger every now and again. At the end there is a longing look that indicates she seems to have feelings for Peter. Her initials are a tribute to Mary Jane, but unlike Mary Jane she likes Peter for Peter and not just because he’s Spiderman. Michelle was probably one of my favourite characters in the film.
The Sidekick:
Ned’s the quirky sidekick who accidently finds out that his best-friend is Spiderman and helps him throughout the film. He’s a funny, likeable character that tries to help Peter win Liz (the love-interest, who is always being saved by Spiderman) as well as covering for Peter when he’s out saving the world.

Within the film there’s a nice big twist to keep it interesting. Vulture , who seemingly became a villain due to circumstances and opportunity, along with some bad choices; kind of redeems himself slightly at the end.
At the beginning it did sort of seem like it was the fault of the government, as they put Vulture and his team out of a job and he was set to lose everything.
His family seemed to be the most important thing to him and them having the best seemed to be his intention. However they were totally unaware of what he was doing and the crimes he was committing.

The film ends on a great note, as Spiderman looks in the mirror after earning Iron Man’s respect. And his protective Auntie finally finding out what he really has been up to during his midnight escapades or at least putting it together.

By
Elizabeth Hopkins

 

Posted in Film Reviews

Wonder Woman Film Review

Posted on by Elizabeth Han Hopkins

Now this was defiantly an awesome film. Glossing over the fact that parts of it may have looked like a Tresemme advert, Gal Gadot definitely did Wonder Woman justice.

For some, it may have been a slow start but I quite enjoyed the little build up to all the action. I think it helped build wonder woman’s character up, by seeing how strong minded she was even as child, her culture [being surrounded by equally strong and strong minded women] and her training.  One of the highlights for me was seeing all these strong women fighting. Although the flips during the fighting scene were unnecessary, they were so awesome that it didn’t matter, it also made the film that much more entertaining.

The Themyscira Island itself was stunning and really portrayed paradise, with its sandy beaches, beautiful glowing water in a cave and huge grand castle like buildings really added to the beauty of this film.

Moving on we see the emotional scenes which allow her to see the death of a loved ones for the first time. We also see her making the decision to leave going against her mother’s wishes to help and fight alongside the humans.

Set in a time whereby women were not yet seen as equal, it was invigorating to see Wonder Woman be the first  to go through no-man’s land regardless of people’s discouragement,  to stand up for what she believed in and get it done regardless of people’s initial thoughts of her. All displaying that she was not only capable of doing what they did but also being much stronger and going above people’s initial perceptions of her. [Yes I know this is a superhero movie].

Finding out who the main villain (her half-brother) was, was somewhat of a surprise and a little unexpected but it tied the film nicely together. At the end of it all, there was a mixture of she was right, victory and sadness. Along with the ultimate message that every human has imperfections and may not be completely good, coupled with it’s better to be driven by love than hate.

All in all, putting aside the recent controversies to do with Gadot, it was a fantastic film and DC truly made a strong woman superhero that inspired and invigorated women.

Posted in Film Reviews

Deadpool Review

Posted on by Elizabeth Han Hopkins

The other day, I went to see one of Marvels best films to date. Filled with humour, it was definitely something worth watching in the cinema.

The casting was great. Ryan Reynolds brought humour to the big screen in folds, there were digs at everything from his previous film Green Lantern to the production budget of Deadpool. His cheeky personality also helped defuse the most serious and emotional scenes which let you feel sympathetic towards certain characters. Then BAM! He would say something funny or something would happen that would make you laugh again. Of course the other characters helped in making the film the success that it was and it would not have worked without them.

Then there was Wade Wilson’s love interest which in this case was Vanessa Carlysle played by the beautiful Morena Baccarin. Her sassy character plays in-line with Wilsons, including the characters funny but strong introduction. They really do make a cute pair during the times of the film that they do appear together and in those parts of the film it almost did seem like a little romantic movie hahaha.

In terms of my favourite scene or part, I don’t think I could pick one, as there were so many parts of the film that I loved. The taxi scene is definitely one of them. Just the whole interaction and contradiction in body language to what Wilson says to the taxi driver is just brilliant. I also love the fact that deadpool talks to the audience as if he knows that he’s in a movie. I have seen it done before but nowhere near as good as the way deadpool has done it.

All in all it is definitely worth the watch and I do think it does live up to the hype that has surrounded it. ;P

Posted in Film Reviews

Guardians of the Galaxy Review

Posted on by Elizabeth Han Hopkins

This past weekend I got to see the new marvel film, At first I was a bit skeptical because some films don’t live up to the hype that they are surrounded by, but this film was funny, intelligent and kept me engaged the entire time. Sure there were a few cheesy bits, but what film doesn’t have those and some of those cheesy sections ended up being hilarious.Therefore I highly recommend it especially to those marvel lovers out there.

Poster
The Characters!

As the film went on, so did my love for the various characters especially Groot, who’s only word’s were: “I am Groot.” (Vin Diesel) And whom Rocket (Raccoon) was able to translate perfectly with added commentary. Groot was an interesting character as although his words may have been limited his actions and abilities within the film continuously expanded and surprised the audience. Additionally he did what I call the Groot Smash! And gave a little smile at the end! Little Groot was also super adorable when he danced, and definitely had the cute factor on point.

http://imgur.com/xUFRAto
Dancing Baby Groot

Rocket was another funny little character, and Bradley Cooper‘s voice was perfect and gave him a lot of character. Other than making you want Rocket as a pet, he was one of the more resourceful characters in the film, being able to make weapons and formulate plans on the spot, not all of which were perfect but did somehow work. He also was extremely funny, sarcastic at times, and for fun made people get things that he didn’t need but thought would be funny.

Then you had the main character’s love interest Gamora, played by the beautiful Zoe Saldana, who was great at putting people in their place, and extremely a talented as weapon, assassin and had an interesting back story.

Then there was Mr. Muscle man, Drax the Destroyer played by Dave Batista a killer turned friend. His comments and inability to understand caused me to laugh a lot, and I wanted him to succeed.

Finally there was the main character, Starlord played by Chris Pratt. He kept surprising me from his back story, to his humor, and even his playboy attitude, all of it made him a fun, happy go lucky character. Still I really want to know who his dad is!

Haha
Anyways I recommend it!
And remember to watch it till after the credits!
It links in to other marvel films
=D