Crazy Rich Asians (2018) Puts A Feminist Twist on Rom-Com Fairytale

Warner Bros. Pictures

Anyone who’s anyone has probably heard of Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan's international bestselling book that's taken the literary world by storm since 2013. If you haven't, chances are you'll know its name now with the critically acclaimed adaptation closely following its lead. And for good reason: director Jon M Chu charms with a story about love, sacrifice and identity that'll sweep you off your feet.

An economics professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) is invited by her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding) to attend a family wedding. Making a good first impression to your possible-in-laws is naturally intimidating, but Chu’s meet-and-greet brings a shocking revelation: Young is the prized son to one of the richest families in Singapore and the approval of his mother Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh) is extraordinarily difficult to earn; so much so, it might end up tearing them apart.

At first glance, Crazy Rich Asians is a lighthearted, endearing movie that's pretty much like every other romantic comedy: pretty people falling head over heels for each other in wonderful locations set to an addictive soundtrack. But sometimes the best rom-coms have substance as well as style, and this film has both in spades; especially the latter starring women (and men) struggling to sacrifice or uphold a part of their identity and traditions to appease the people they love.

A Star Is Born (2018) Trailer Reaction

Warner Bros. Pictures

Set to make his directorial debut with an ambitious remake of stardom, love, and loss, Bradley Cooper transforms a love story about an alcoholic musician who falls head over heels for an undiscovered star destined to rise to the top. Their relationship is put through the test as his spotlight fades away into the background as her acclaim rises.

After spending years in development hell, Cooper and Lady Gaga are taking La La Land by storm. Is the movie going to be worth the hype? I know all the feels I'm already having, but let's look at the trailer! (This post contains a spoiler dealing with the story of the older films that might have an affect on this one.)

Book VS Series: Sharp Objects

Gillian Flynn's novels are easily some of the most difficult contemporary stories to adapt. She's one of the most hardcore voices out there that dives deep into her anti-heroines' psyche, often weaving their experiences into a disturbing, no-holds-barred thriller. Even after the successful adaptation of Gone Girl (and the forgettable flop Dark Places), one never knows how her rage-filled worlds will come to life. With three generations of complicated female characters tackling everything from misogyny to self-harm and abuse, her original debut novel Sharp Objects becomes a damn fine mini-series.

This post deals with themes of the book and show - self-harm, abuse, rape, etc - and contains spoilers - you've been warned.

Dell on Movies Against The Crowd Blogathon

Dell on Movies is hosting the fifth year of his blogathon Against the Crowd, where bloggers share their unpopular opinions about movies "everyone" seems to love or hate. The blogathon sounded like a lot of fun, and not something I've participated in before. It was interesting to rummage through different genres, trying to find movies I thought were universally loved or hated and then find out my assumptions were completely wrong. I'm pretty surprised I actually found a pairing that fit a genre. If you want to see the full blogathon and the rest of the entries, check out Dell on Movie's blog here!

The blogathon guidelines:
1. Pick one movie that "everyone" loves (the more iconic, the better). That movie must have a score of 75% or more on rottentomatoes.com. Tell us why you hate it.

2. Pick one movie that "everyone" hates (the more notorious, the better). That movie must have a score of 35% or less on rottentomatoes.com. Tell us why you love it.

3. Include the tomato meter scores of both movies.

Here are my two picks. What do you think - agree or disagree? Feel free to let me in the comments!

UPDATED: Is Wonder Woman 1984 Going Meta? and Other Thoughts about the Non-Sequel

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

We have another year to go before Patty Jenkin's highly anticipated return of Wonder Woman hits theaters November 2019. As more production stills and filming locations surface online, I'm already wondering what in the world is going on in this sequel - a surprising return? nods to George Orwell? Kristin Wiig as the villain? Here are some theories of what may be coming in Wonder Woman 1984. Spoilers and theories are included beyond this point - you've been warned!

Ranking the Mission: Impossible franchise

Tom Cruise was already a breakout star in the 1980s with movies like Taps, Risky Business, Top Gun, and Rain Man under his belt. Heading into the '90s, Cruise was on his way to take over the box-office and change the action genre forever with a little movie called Mission: Impossible. Starring as IMF agent Ethan Hunt in 1996, he started a franchise that twenty-two years down the road is still going strong. Honestly, it just doesn't feel like a proper summer at the movies without Cruise headlining this thrilling franchise that just keeps getting better and better. With the release of the sixth movie (read my review here), I'm ranking the Mission: Impossible series.  How would you rank the franchise so far? Feel to let me know in the comments!

5 (Real) Ideas to Fix the Oscars

Award shows should be an exciting affair, and generally, they are for the people who they’re geared towards – Grammys ring in devoted music lovers, Tonys for the theatre crowd, Oscars for cinemaphiles, and so on. However, over the past several years  the Academy Awards has felt pressure to increase its ratings despite movie fans accepting the ceremony format (excluding the lack of diversity, of course) the way it is.

With making the Oscars more dynamic in mind, the Academy Awards's planned some big changes. Two, in particular, set fire to the film community: the show's running time will be limited to three hours period (by filming the technical winner's speeches during commercials and then aired as a montage). And, creating a new separate category for Popular Film instead of acknowledging blockbusters with other Best Picture nominees.

While their new ideas certainly had good intentions, it's not difficult to notice that the Oscars ceremony continues to gloss over its other mistakes. From forced comedy sketches to general pat-each-other-on-the-pack merriment, there's harmless flubs that makes it feel like we're watching the same ceremony over and over again; small reasons why the ratings continue to decline. So, how can the most anticipatory time of the year for movie buffs actually change for better? I have a few ideas. I'd love to know how you feel about the Oscars' announcements. Let me know in the comments!