First Man (2018) Shoots for the Moon But Misses

Universal Pictures

Most are probably familiar with Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 mission: the space race between the U.S. and Soviet Union, the "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind" quote, the iconic photo of Neil's footprints on the moon. Here for First Man, director Damien Chazelle explores a deeper, not widely known story, behind one of humankind’s biggest achievements.

Following the death of their toddler Karen, Neil (Ryan Gosling) and his family gradually set a course for him through trial and error to chart the famous Apollo 11 mission. While working his way up as a pilot and surviving the Gemini missions to landing on the moon, Armstrong’s eyes are so strongly set on the stars to deal with his grief, his relationship with wife Janet (Claire Foy) and their two sons starts falling apart at the seams.

One can’t have a biopic about Neil Armstrong without the Apollo 11, and vice versa. To tackle such an elusive figure with monumental events, it’s a real balancing act for any director to want to tell both stories. There's no question that Chazelle wanted to explore Armstrong's side of the events. However in focusing the film almost entirely from his perspective, the overall journey to the moon leaves a lot to be desired. 

Let's Go To There: Halloween Horror Nights 2018

Every autumn Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood transforms its theme parks under the cover of darkness into scare zones and themed houses. This year, Stranger Things, Poltergeist, Halloween 4, and The Purge were just some of the iconic movies and shows to arrive at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort.

To be honest, I'm not an avid horror fan, but I like the occasional scare. When my sister and I saw the line-up of houses for this year's HHN, we cast our fears aside to celebrate Halloween a little differently this year. Because it caters to all kinds of fans (mostly 18+) who love to get more than a little freaked out, the event turned out to be perfect for me and my sister to attend.

Fourth's Time The Charm for A Star Is Born (2018)

Warner Bros Pictures

Every twenty years Hollywood has reinvented A Star Is Born, a seemingly timeless story where a veteran star’s fame declines as he falls in love with a newcomer who rises to the top. From earning standing ovations at film festivals around the world to epic word-of-mouth on social media, director Bradley Cooper and his co-star Lady Gaga has earned acclaim for his directorial debut with the reboot of a tragic Hollywood fairytale. With so much hype surrounding the musical-drama-romance, the fourth A Star Is Born remake not only lives up to the hype but worth all its weight in gold and then some.

I don't consider this review full of spoilers, but if you're not familiar with the full A Star Is Born plot, it might be spoilerish. 

Stars I Love: Dakota Johnson

Dakota-Johnson Nino-Muñoz Glamour UK March-2017

At first glance, Dakota Johnson has become recognizable as the face of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy and the granddaughter to Hollywood legend Tippi Hedren and daughter to Melanie Griffith. Though these are easy facts to Google about her skyrocket to stardom over the past few years, Johnson has managed to take Hollywood by storm on her own terms that defies expectations.

Despite her direct connection to Tinseltown through her family, Johnson got her start in movies and tv like other break-out stars. Working her way up the ladder, she posed in Got Milk? commercials as a child alongside her mother and siblings to later becoming an awards presenter at the Golden Globes. After failing to get into Juliard with a Radiohead-inspired audition, she started earning small parts in movies. From the Academy-Award nominated The Social Network to rom-coms like Date and Switch and The Five Year Engagement (she even had a stint on The Office in its eleventh hour), she created a small variety of characters that showed off her comedic and dramatic side.

And then came the role of a lifetime....

Mary Poppins Returns (2018) Trailer Reaction

Fifty-four years ago Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke starred in the timeless Disney classic Mary Poppins. Now set for her own sequel in an all-new adventure starring Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, the classic magical nanny returns to check up on the Banks children going through struggles of their own as parents and help them believe in the impossible again.

Disney recently dropped the official trailer AND supercalifragilistic does it look like my Christmas is going to be a 1000x full of feels than it usually is. Let's check it out!

5 Actors That Should've Won (or Been Nominated) for An Emmy

The Emmys are the biggest platform for series to be recognized in the television industry. While everyone can't win or earn recognition for their work, there are a few performances that didn't earn Emmy gold which always amazes me. Some actors have either been entirely overlooked in their category year after year, or just managed to lose out to other nominees. Here are five actors, who now looking back should've been nominated or won an Emmy. Who do you think has been snubbed by the Emmys in the past? I'm interested to hear your picks!

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.