Phantom Thread (2017) Combines Beauty with the Bizarre

Photo Credit: Focus Features

A period film is rarely going to be anything else than what you expect. They carry with them a certain routine charm and elegance, and often breathtaking costumes and scenery to draw us into another time. Unless it's an old-fashioned mystery, biopics of twentieth century figures or unrequited love stories in the seventeenth century, aren't pegged to have some massive twist that leaves you feel like you've left a suspenseful thriller. Phantom Thread has all those things you'd expect of a typical period film, but surprisingly, not everything is what it seems.

Hiding twisted secrets underneath its beautiful facade, something hypnotic and unsettling lingers within the gorgeous visuals of director Paul Thomas Anderson's latest feature. A waitress Alma Elson (Vicky Krieps) falls head over heels with fashion designer Reynolds Woodcock (Daniel Day Lewis). Being in love with Woodcock is to be caught in a beautiful web. With Woodcock's decadent creations comes his elusive charisma and moodiness, a perfectionist attention to detail, and his equally mercurial sister Cyril (Lesley Manville). Will their romance last and how is the question we're not beckoned to ask, but it's one that we find out the answer to in stunning, unimaginable ways.

On the surface, the film is a love story. Alma, Reynolds, and Cyril love his clothes; designing, refining, and bestowing them on women worthy of wearing them. There's such a love of them there's seemingly nothing that can outdo their significance or steal away their attention, except for each one's love of control over their lives and each other.

Just like the canvases he makes with his clothes, there's a pattern to Reynolds's relationships: fall in love with a muse, ,the honeymoon phases out, and he ultimately cheats on his significant other with his work. But unlike Reynolds's past muses, Alma refuses to wear out her welcome. She challenges Reynolds and Cyril wanting more and more, becoming a pawn in their game and also in a step ahead of their moves. They've all found their match in each other, preying on weaknesses to gain the upperhand. Their relationships become less of a tragic romance and more of a Hitchcock mystery, wondering who is going to be the first to submit, what will make them crack: Reynolds's  perfectionism, Cyril's control of their business, or Alma's refusal to be a doormat.

Director and writer Paul Thomas Anderson created a film that has all the ingredients of what you expect of period films we've seen before, from gorgeous costumes and production design to a romance that seems doom to ever work. And yet a bizarre obsession in its characters and story sets itself apart.

Though Daniel Day Lewis earned rightful acclaim for what might be his last film performance ever, Phantom Thread has plenty of stars equally worthy of praise. Vicky Krieps is a force to be reckon with as Alma, a character whose an unshakable force coming up against immovable objects. You never know what's up her sleeve, or if she's ever going to be in on the game that her lover and his sister play. The other is Leslie Manville, stepping out of a career of smaller roles into one that is fiercely resolute, whose steely gaze will make you surrender in an instant. While Lewis definitely gives a good performance worthy of his career's curtain call, the three of them, Anderson's direction make a great team.

To say the least, this is not the romantic film one might anticipate. The whirlwind dalliance you think you're embarking on at the beginning is not exactly the one that unfolds, and that's truly a marvel. Anderson's writing is an example of how a script could've only been produced by its director; his attention to detail is on everything from the quaint English style of Woodcock's workplace and home that's charming but claustrophobic, to the impeccable costume design by Mark Bridges. He manages to make you feel like you've been transported into a beautiful, yet bizarre world of his own design. It's best to go into this with as little knowledge as possible because a big surprise in the characters' relationships can have a gasp-worthy effect (it did for me). As strange and unpredictable as the story evolves, it leaves one wondering so many questions, and with a feeling of having been hypnotized and bewildered.

Rating: ★★★

Have you seen Phantom Thread?

What did you think?

The Walking Dead 08x12 The Key

Photo Credit: AMC / Gene Page

Clinging to victory over Negan, the community's leaders are facing some of their biggest challenges yet: providing for their fellow survivors to ensure a better future. An odd proposition in trust catches Maggie by surprise. A chance to eliminate Negan from the equation is too tempting for Rick to pass up. And, one of Negan's right-hand man takes advantage of an opportunity to get ahead. Below includes spoilers of the series' eight seasons so far. You've been warned but hope you enjoy!

The X-Files (2018) Struggles To Keep Its Legacy Going

Photo Credit: Fox

After fourteen years of waiting for The X-Files to return, its initial reboot in 2016 wasn't the greatest. While it was great catching up with Mulder and Scully as they thwarted Cigarette Smoking Man's bit for world destruction, the highly anticipated tenth season was a bumpy start. A question weighed on the fandom's mind: could the series eclipse the disappointment with season eleven? Below includes spoilers of The X-Files series so far. You've been warned but hope you enjoy!

The Walking Dead The Lost and the Plunderers & Dead or Alive or

Photo Credit: AMC / Gene Page

The Walking Dead has lost its beacon of hope. The leaders of Alexandria Rick Grimes and Michonne now have to find a new way to contend with their path ahead. Will they take the messages of their loss to heart? Or continue to veer into a bloodshed war against Negan? Below includes spoilers of the series' eight seasons so far for episode nine The Lost and the Plunderers and episode ten Dead or Alive or. You've been warned but hope you enjoy!

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018) Teaser Reaction

Photo Credit: Warner Bros Studios

Ya'll know how much I love Harry Potter, but if you dived into the penseive with me for a second...you might be surprised to know my initial reaction to Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them wasn't the rapturous adoration one might expect. Fast forward two years to today, and the first film has increasingly become one of my favorites of the series. I've watched it countless times to the point that I have it memorized, not to mention that I just want to hold Newt, Tina, Jacob, Queenie, and all of his magical creatures and never let them go.

So it's pretty exciting that after a long, controversial wait for more news about the sequel, the official teaser has finally been released! #WandsReady? Let's go! 

Velcro: Polluted War by Chris Widdop

One of the great joys of watching a series evolve is the growth of the story, characters, and worldbuilding. Every addition reveals where the journey is going to venture. When author Chris Widdop announced the fourth installment Polluted War for the Velcro series, I was excited to receive a copy to review.

A masked vigilante feline Velcro begins her adventure in Velcro: The Ninja Kat, righting the wrongs in the Country of Widows when villages across the region are attacked and the activities of a military organization The Devil Corps becomes increasingly suspicious. As the series moves along with The Green Lion and The Masquerade, Velcro begins to understand her connection to the land's magic,  and just how deep the corruption with her enemies runs. Her strength helps win allies to join her cause but also the attention of those from the other side who want to stop her. Now, in Polluted War, the stakes are at their highest as Velcro delves deeper into a war that continues to unfold.

Since the beginning Widdop has created an imaginative world filled with anthropomorphize animals who are a vessel in telling his story. Full of charming and complex worldbuilding, I was wondering what Velcro's magical abilities meant and how it was used across the world; what was the history of magic that made the Devil Corps want to remove it from the world and how those who wield magic might use it to defend themselves. Between Velcro and the villages who are ready to stand up for themselves, The Devil Corps willing to do anything to win, and The Masquerade who want to protect magic, there's a lot of conflict brewing at the forefront and Widdop breaks it down in a unique way in a manageable pace. Slowly but surely, the direction Widdop has taken with Velcro comes together from revealing pieces of the story and letting them fall into place.

The previous books showed that war affects everyone, and that the supporting characters have their own personal battles or reasons for justice which makes them want to fight. While Velcro is still the leader of the pack and drives the story, Polluted War feels much more like an ensemble piece. Her brother Charlie, close-by comrades, and leaders vying for the Devil Dogs are on their own arc of self-discovery and are challenged to choose which side they're on. Behind the use of magic and the villages vying to protect each other is a real sense that every piece adds up to the whole of the battle. It's easy to become invested in Widdop's variety of friends and antagonists because they are not one-sided or weakly written. Outside of his spirited, determined, and empathetic heroine are sidekicks and advesaries with their own motivations and create a genuine atmosphere of sacrifice that the war is producing.

In terms of the writing and world-building, the attention to detail is as strong compared to the previous books. While in my last review of the first three books I nitpicked about the geography, that slight issue still arises here and there but not as much as it used to. His attention to his characters isn't missing in his worldbuilding, but in terms how the characters travel from place to place rather frequently, it's a little confounding to figure just the wide scope of where going or leaving. But again, that's nitpicking. Widdop has a great sense of who his characters are and the conflicts that they are imbued in, which reflects in his engaging style as the story goes deeper with familiar and new characters.

So far, the Velcro series continues to be charming and action-packed. Polluted War maintains that same sense of adventure as it did in the beginning, just fuller and rounder as the books continue to grow. This series is a wonderful start for fans of action mixed with fantasy who enjoy an engaging quick read filled with complex animal characters. I'm excited to see where Velcro and the revolution heads to next!

Rating: ★★½☆
Have you checked out the Velcro series? What are your thoughts? 

Cloverfield Paradox (2018) Is One Sequel Too Many for the Apocalyptic Franchise

Photo Credit: Netflix

Ten years ago Cloverfield thrust movie goers into NYC with terrifying found-footage of a monster invasion. It was an original film with a massive organic marketing machine that became a cult hit. Fast forward eight years, after a long string of will-they-ever-make-it hype, 10 Cloverfield Lane was an ambitious, successful follow-up with a different take on the-end-of-the-world. Even though the series's third installment, Cloverfield Paradox, follows in their footsteps, it's missing all of the same qualities that made the first two films so darn good.

Dropping on Netflix after the 2018 Super Bowl without any previous hype, the latest version of events leaves Earth behind to cover the apocalypse from space. As countries go to war at home over energy crises, an international space crew aboard the Cloverfield space station tries to utilize Shepard particle accelerator to create a renewable energy source. The downside is that executing the particle can create alternative realities. The crew's gamble poses numerous threats and questions: what will their actions do for those at home? is the sacrifice to leave their families behind worth it if they never return? did their vortex transplant monsters on Earth?

The one thing the Cloverfield franchise had going for it was its thrills. Not only its ability to release a new movie out of nowhere and let fans rush to see it, but also its ability to be scary. Cloverfield dropped movie goers into a first-person perspective as a group of friends try to survive a Godzilla-like attack. 10 Cloverfield Lane kept its suspense claustrophobic with a young woman taken in by a conspiratorial survivalist and making us question if he was crazy or telling the truth. Paradox starts off with a cool enough premise as the particle accelerator hurls chaos on the Cloverfield station. Along with the crew as they one from one crisis to another, you're supposed to feel like you don't know what's going to happen next. But unfortunately, the film's inspiring horror elements become too commonplace. After the first thrilling curveball, the script recycles "wouldn't it be scary if this happened" ideas every ten minutes; most of the intended scares of dimensions colliding are gimmicky. This isn't necessarily bad if you just want to enjoy a popcorn flick, but if you want more than the same tactics to make you scared it's unexciting.

If there's one thing the movie has going for it is the impressive cast, which includes but not limited to
David Oyelowo, Daniel Brühl, John Ortiz, Chris O'Dowd, Aksel Hennie, Zhang Ziyi. Gugu-Mbgraw and Elizbeth Delecki are the only refreshing entries with each having their own reasons for wanting to manipulate the alternative reality they've fallen into, but even their agency boils down to a simple process of elimination instead of anything deliberate. Unfortunately, the abundance of talent can't save the film from the fact that their characters are the most basic tropes: each one representing their home country and bringing their international conflicts (and stereotypes) from home on board.

Similar to its sister sequel, Paradox wasn't originally connected to the Cloverfield universe. The script was written with the idea of it being released into theaters as its own solo flick. Unlike 10 Cloverfield Lane which found its place in the apocalypse universe, Paradox might've worked better on its own. Despite the decent reputation of Netflix making its own content and intentionally trying to be a great sci-fi flick, Cloverfield Paradox makes for a great SYFY flick on the level of Sharknado. With the Cloverfield name attached to it, it could've been a lot better.

Rating: ★☆☆
Have you seen Cloverfield Paradox? What did you think?

The Walking Dead 8x09 Honor

AMC

The communities knew their all-out-war against Negan would include casualties. But what happens when one of their own faces an unexpected fate? A loss of a major source of hope and resilience might be more than some can bear. Below includes spoilers of the series' eight seasons so far. You've been warned but hope you enjoy!

Black Panther (2018) Reigns Supreme in the MCU

Photo Credit: Marvel Studios

When a new movie enters the Marvel Cinematic Universe, critics expectantly hail it as a game-changer before it even hits theaters. Facing a mountain of expectations and pressure to deliver, sometimes the final product isn't worth the excitement or gets lost in the shuffle among all the other pending projects. As one of its most anticipated movies of the year, Black Panther had a lot to overcome. Entertaining, socially relevant, and engaging, the long-awaited film soars to the occasion and conquers the predictable MCU hype.

After his father's passing in Captain America: Civil War, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) must claim his throne as the King of Wakanda, a technologically-advanced African utopia that's shielded itself from the outside world. The transfer of power is challenged as his country questions hiding their innovation and culture to protect themselves in fear of being conquered. His journey is further caught in the crossfire when a black market arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) and special-ops agent Erik Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) aims to tip Wakanda out of the shadows whether the nation is ready or not.

As kings of separate courts on a road to self-discovery, Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan lead the story with intensity, passion, and heart. On the one hand, T'Challa is of noble birth, but to guide his people means facing his role model's darkest secrets that puts his own reign in jeopardy. Though he's earned his place on the throne, his decisions about his country's future will ultimately mirror the kind of person he wants to be, a shift that possibly dismantles the cherished legacy his father built. But he has to do right by his heart and what's best for Wakandans everywhere.

In his opposition, Erik Stevens grew up on the streets of Oakland, California; lost and forgotten he was formed by the corruption and oppression. He's not so much a villain, but someone who's left to think that destroying the world is his only option for justice. Hailing from opposite sides of the world but facing similar obstacles makes their feud so much much more than good versus evil; it's a search to do right by themselves and their people; how a system and its leaders has the power to build or break its people; to be seen, validated, and integrated into the world. It's the kind of story superheros often pursue but also become so formulated and repetitive. Here, they feel less invincible like we know masked crusaders to be, and more powerful by showing their humanity in its many different layers.

The film's cast is one of the most solid ensembles to come. Together and individually, as a family they bring their own brand of emotional and physical bad-assery. Rarely do action films harness the power of one headlining lady, let alone several. Here everyone gets to shine, working together for the greater good: Danai Gurira as Okoye, a traditionalist general of the all-female special forces of Wakanda; Letitia Wright as T'Challa's effervescent sister and innovative backbone of Wakanda's scientific and technological advancements; Lupia Nyong'o as Nakia, an undercover spy trying to will Wakanda out of its old ways. Together and individually, they are smart, clever, protective, passionate, generous, funny, vulnerable, and ready to kick-ass. They are a few highlights (including Angela Bassett, Forest Whittaker, Daniel Kaluuya, Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis) who bring an enthusiastic, fierce vibe to the T'Challa and Erik's clash.

Like Patty Jenkins and DC's monumental step-forward with Wonder Woman, director Ryan Coogler brings everything to the table. As a superhero movie, Black Panther is vibrant, rich, funny, action-packed and an emotional rollercoaster ride. Sure, it's fun to just go to the theaters and just enjoy a good popcorn-worthy showdown. But what truly elevates an entertaining, fulfilling story is the elements it weaves throughout. Black Panther packs great storytelling, intense fight sequences, and a wicked sense of humor, into a superhero movie. But it's not just a superhero movie.

Echoing Batman's Gotham or Superman's Metropolis, Coogler lets us Wakanda burst to life in gorgeous costumes, indigenous traditions, and the advanced technology it thrives on. Its soundtrack blends beautiful African tribal music with hip-hop and R&B, playing with the vibes of ancestral homages and modern music. Beyond delivering representation and long-deserved diversity, the story solidly weaves issues of race and blackness, political diplomacy, cultural differences between rich and the poor, and an identity for minorities that has been ignored and suppressed for too long. Black Panther is a fun ride, but its power also lies in blending reality into fiction, using storytelling to tell some potent, necessary truths. And, it's done with a deep well of passion that pours onto the screen.

In the same vein that all of the right cards had to be in place for Wonder Woman to receive her own feature film, Black Panther finally claims its throne. Why did it take so long? Because the industry is still stuck in its own web of what they think sells. A lot of films have come along to slowly but surely crack the glass ceiling - Get Out knocked it out of the park. Wonder Woman proved complex female heroines are important. And now, Black Panther has shattered expectations. The rest of 2018 has a lot to live up to. Long live the king.

Rating: ★★★

Have you seen Black Panther? What did you think?

5 Reasons To Finally Quit The Walking Dead

It's easy to write that I love The Walking Dead, but there might not be enough words for me to adequately show how much. For the past eight years, a part of my fangirl heart and brain has lived and breathed this show - its songs, its special moments, its amazing female characters, the recaps and anticipation of a new season on the horizon. But there comes a time where it's too painful or disappointing to watch the show decline beyond repair and the idolization chips away.

While The Walking Dead is still one of the most popular shows, fans have been dropping in droves for quite sometime. Lately, I've become a fan who's made justifications for why I still watch it: The worldbuilding isn't too bad. The earlier seasons are still great. There's still hope for something to change. But as season eight hits the half-way mark, and there's no going back after its unpredictable turn-of-events with major characters, I finally have enough gripes towards one of my all-time faves that I have to acknowledge them.

As a show I've been a hardcore fan of since the beginning, it's gut-wrenching to ponder saying good-bye out of my own free-will rather than the show officially ending in a blaze of glory. But the show has struggled to be consistent or return to the elements that used to make it so great for far too long. I don't want to quit something I love so much, but here are five reasons it's finally time. Are you sticking around for season nine? Let me know in the comments below!

I, Tonya (2017) is Pure Gold

Photo Credit: Neon

For nearly twenty five years, the complicated rivalry between figure skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan took the world by storm. In 1994, obsessed news outlets and the public tried to call the shots of how Harding attacked her fellow competitor to stay on top. Now, this time solely focusing on the former, I, Tonya ambitiously sets at least one side of the story straight.

Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) was raised by her ruthless, narcissistic mother LaVona (Allison Janney) to be the best figure skater in the world. Determined and hard-working, she manages to become a U.S. Champion on her way to Olympic glory. Then her abusive husband Jeff (Sebastian Stan) and his lame-brain friend Shawn (Paul Walter Hauser) clumsily attempt to out her biggest competitor Nancy Kerrigan by whacking her in the knee. The attack instigates a worldwide scandal spiraling Harding’s fall from grace.

Taking a page out of Tonya’s book to be unpredictable and unvarnished, director Craig Gillespie’s film is not your typical biopic. More of a tell-all from Tonya and her family’s perspectives, the movie plays with different sides of the story because there never is just one. The movie is narrated by the four main culprits involved throughout Harding's life - Harding, LaVona, Jeff, and Shawn. As they describe their versions of events, history isn't concerned with looking back and over-fictionalizing  what happened. Nope, this movie's all about letting the people directly involved have the final word.

Through a wicked ride of comedy and drama, Harding is painted differently than how we might remember her. If one is looking for a catfight on ice, the movie is going to disappoint. Harding's life leading up to the incident and afterwards is depicted in a no-holds-barred, flipping her reputation as the victimizer against Kerrigan and showing her own experiences as a victim of domestic abuse. Delving into the normalized abuse Tonya suffered by her mother growing up, and then her husband, Robbie as Harding often breaks the fourth wall in the middle of being attacked or insulted, describing to those watching what's going on, how she feels and why the cycle continued. It's not the most typical or sensitive way to display what she went through growing up, but it's pivotal in showing how desensitized Harding had become to these normalized cycles and how big of a hit her self-worth ultimately takes.

By pushing herself out of her dysfunctional family, Harding is a scrappy warrior. As the film dives into the absurd, letting you be a spectator to her downfall and addressing how the media portrayed her, its offbeat style also creates empathy for her; to understand the purpose of skating as her Achilles’ heel; how she gets her self-worth from skating, how her ambition is a refuge and curse. The movie is wildly successful in its ability to be heart-wrenching and uncommonly funny. But never it never entirely absolves Harding for what happened to Kerrigan, nor uses any of the film's violence for cheap laughs.

What ultimately carries I, Tonya is the cast lead by Margot Robbie. Playing Harding from fifteen to forty-seven years old, the native Australian completely throws herself into the role from the mid-western speech to the second-hand make-up and costumes. As an actress, and a vital producer to the film and ensuring the movie was sensitive yet candid, Robbie creates a palpable image of Harding - a white-trash underdog who’s unvarnished personality didn’t fit the golden ice princess image. The film’s style has a lot going on, and Robbie manages to ground the audacious portrayal into something believeable. With her, the supporting cast Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, and Paul Walter Hauser, morph what would be caricatures into real-life people that you really can't believe actually exist.

A big hand goes to the screenwriter Steve Rogers in balancing Harding as both a victim and victimizer; she was a bystander to her husband’s crime and also complicit in it. The film covers a lot of ground like class in America, the value of a person’s image over their talent, and a woman determined to break free. His writing bends and curves all over the place but never jumps the tracks.

Interestingly, as the movie focuses on Tonya more than Kerrigan, a lot of critics wonder what the latter thinks - especially since Harding serves as a producer and I, Tonya’s has been collecting accolades in Hollywood. It’s easy: she’s moved on and living her life. Even though the movie does not glorify and limits showing Kerrigan’s perspective, much of the social commentary about her  comes across as a projection of long-overdue sympathy. Considering that the movie explores society's judgement on them both, it's interesting to look back and see them both treated like a sideshow in this major circus; Kerrigan also became a salacious scandal, soon not living up to critic's expectations, with her attack being made into parodies and getting called out her on her own mistreatment to other skaters. It makes me wonder if we’ve moved beyond a place in cinema to explore people who are flawed and don't live on an imaginary pedestal that everyone is perfect; or that maybe the expectation for the movie was to pit two women against each other in a superficial feud.

I, Tonya is not a straight-forward investigation of ‘Who dun it’, trying to cleverly re-imagine who is the real culprit of attacking Kerrigan. The movie’s a true-crime soap opera, digging into a scandal that divided the world, the dark underground of figure skating, and a woman picking herself up from her bootstraps skates. The story swerves in-between being funny, dysfunctional, and dark, but as crazy as it gets, it never loses sight of Robbie as the star or the Harding as the story; it's pure gold.

Rating: ★★★

Have you seen I, Tonya? What did you think?

6 Best Rick and Carl Grimes Moments on The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead has always been about family; people from all walks of life who would've never met otherwise and trying to survive what the zombie apocalypse throws at them. But there's no bond bigger in the series than the one between Rick and Carl Grimes - a father trying to protect and keep his son alive by any means necessary. There's almost too many heartfelt, important moments between the two to list them all, but here's my take on the best of Rick and Grimes from The Walking Dead. (This post includes major spoilers of all the seasons so far!) Is this list missing one of your favorite scenes? Feel free to share in the comments below.