Friday, February 14, 2020

Best Reactions from Stranger Things Season 4 Teaser

Best Reactions from Stranger Things Season 4 Teaser
Stranger Things season three left fans heartbroken but optimistic. To save face from spoilers, for those who don't know, a beloved character was seemingly killed off in the latest season finale. Fans mourned their death with the characters' loved ones and assumed that was the last we'd see of him.

Cue to the teaser of Stranger Things's season four and fans suspicions - ones who believed the character was still alive - were surprisingly confirmed before more details of the next season came to light.

Of course, the fandom responded as it does - with the best reactions on social media. Here are some tweets helping us celebrate and anticipate the next season. 

This post contains spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020) Recaptures The Rom-Com Magic

To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You / Netflix
From Set It Up to Always Be My Maybe, Netflix has become the new home for romantic comedies. Adapting the best-selling novel by Jenny Han into a three-film franchise, To All the Boys I've Loved Before captured the hearts of bookworms and movie lovers in 2018. And the streaming platform's plans to keep the series's heartfelt success going for its next two features continue strong.

Lara Jean Song Covey's (Lana Condor) secret love letters that were never supposed to see the light of day end up in the mailboxes of her old school crushes. To save face from embarrassment and coming in-between her sister and an ex (to whom one of the letters is sent), Lara and one of her crushes Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) start a fake relationship. Their attempts at keeping up with appearances while getting to know each other personally gives way to real feelings.

We last left the couple on the lacrosse field optimistically declaring their feelings for each other, but going back to Adler High School behind is tougher than they think. After risking it all and willing to take a chance on love, Lara Jean and Peter are no longer pretending to be a couple - they're the real deal. As Lara struggles to navigate her first real relationship, a fellow love letter recipient John Ambrose McClaren (Jordan Fisher) springs back into her life, leaving Lara to question what being in love truly means.

Where To All the Boys I've Loved Before brought us along on the journey of Lara Jean's struggle to trust giving her heart over to a real relationship instead of a fantasy, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You brings into view the expectations Lara places on herself as she falls in genuine love for the first time. Both Lara Jean and Peter have to confront insecurities from past relationships (namely with Peter's ex Genevieve played by Emilija Baranac) - they must learn to shed the restrictions of their fake-ship and invest in each other wholeheartedly.

As perfect as love stories might read on the page, it's an entirely different challenge to experience them in real life. Offering a perfect mix of rom-rom chemistry and grounded, relateable performances, Lana Condor and Noah Centineo pick up where they left off, vibing off of each other as the characters gradually grow up. As the beating heart of the series, Lana Condor once again brings humor, heartbreak, and self-awareness to her role as Lana. She perfectly fulfills the role of the conflicted and personable heroine we don't often see in romantic comedies anymore. Next to Centineo's Peter whose energy is as contagious as over, Jordan Fisher's John steps into the role of the sensitive and artistic dreamboat who might steal Lara's heart with ease.

Despite the first film's release two years ago, it doesn't feel as if time has passed at all between the two films. The sequel makes a few major switches behind the scenes - the director's chair passes from Susan Johnson to Micha Fimognari, while Sofia Alvarez adds J. Mills Goodloe as her screenplay partner. From her splendidly bold and colorful costumes to cinematography by, Lara Jean's world takes us back to the nostalgic sphere of rom-coms that sweep us off our feet. Also serving as cinematographer, Fimognari keeps the visual palette from the first film, giving the trilogy a consistent atmosphere and look that you can't get enough of.

For the most part, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You recaptures the same charm as its set-up, revitalizing the nostalgia for rom-coms of the past. It has more adorable characters, gorgeous costumes, and tender mishaps between the letter-writing love triangle that'll make you swoon as rom-coms should do. At times, it also expands its missteps, namely failing to let Lara Jean explore life outside of the confines of her view about and by Peter or John Ambrose. While the first film explored the similarities between Lara and Peter but balanced out the hiccups of their unorthodox arrangement, the consistent string of miscommunication and mix-ups limits the foundation of who they are individually. Some issues throughout their relationship, particularly Peter's inability to look past Genevieve, never exactly feels resolved or that the main relationship grows as much as it could. Subsequently, the cast's chemistry makes the story work even in its strongest and weakest moments where you can't help but feel like rooting for them.

Ringing in the old days of John Hughes's movies, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You is a rare gem, continuing the magic of the first flick and becoming a solid follow-up for a trilogy. Led by effervescent star Lana Condor, the film offers an enthusiastic and heartwarming diversity to a round of complex and endearing characters. The story reminds us of what it's like to fall in love and the journey of learning to communicate and be vulnerable in a relationship. As a romantic-comedy series for a new generation, the charm and joy from the mini-franchise leaves us wanting more for its final and third installment.

Rating: ★1/2☆
Have you seen To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You? What did you think?

Please Note: I was provided with a screener in order to watch this film. To All The Boys I've Loved Before and To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You is currently available to watch on Netflix.

Saturday, February 8, 2020

Top 10 Favorite Movies Of the Decade

10-favorite-movies-past-decade
While pondering my favorite movies from the past ten years, I second-guessed myself as always. Should I choose movies that I re-watch the most because they're comforting? should they be movies that impacted me the most the year they were released, but I haven't watched in a long time? should they be movies that are considered perfect by everyone and sit at the top of countless Best-Of lists?

Narrowing down the past decade of movies was nearly impossible, so it's a good thing I made a back-up of all my runner-ups on letterboxd. And for the lucky ten that made the top spot, I went with a combination of all of my doubts- there are movies that I re-watch the most when I'm down, that impacted me when they were initially released and still do in some ways, movies that might not be technically perfect to other critics but ones that I wouldn't change. Here are my top ten-ish favorite movies of the decade.

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020) Sparks New Life in the Comic Book Genre

birds-of-prey-movie-review
Since director Patty Jenkins's Wonder Woman successful run in 2017, the DCEU has been steadily rebuilding its reputation. With follow-up films like Shazam (2019) and Aquaman (2018), fans love or hate the direction of the studio’s franchises. Shouldered with keeping their winning streak alive and kicking off a stream of female-led films in 2020, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) raises a little hell in the comic book genre and breaks a few glass ceilings of her own.

Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) has broken ties with The Joker, but the immunity her relationship brought has now expired. Formerly under the protection of her ex's power, Quinn’s gotta fend off Gotham City’s worst nightmares when they come to collect. As her emancipation invites more obstacles than she bargained for, Quinn’s sets off a rebellious chain-reaction with teen thief Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), marginalized cop Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), vigilante Dinah Lance (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), and The Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead against a diabolical club owner Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor).

Thursday, February 6, 2020

The LAMB Devours The Oscars: Little Women As Best Picture Nominee

Little Women has a steady history of garnering recognition from the Academy Awards. Three of the four past mainstream Little Women films garnered a total of eight nominations – the 1933 version won for Best Writing Adaptation and the 1949 version won for Best Art Direction-Set Direction Color. With Alcott's material earning an 'updated' remix for a new generation, director Greta Gerwig's latest version adds to the nominations with six nods: Best Motion Picture, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Achievement in Costume Design, Best Achievement in Music.

To celebrate the Oscars this year, I'm participating in The Lamb's Oscar Fest to highlight the film's accomplishment for earning a Best Motion Picture of the Year nomination.


Friday, January 24, 2020

The Gentlemen (2020) Is A Typical Guy Ritchie Movie

Guy Ritchie The Gentlemen movie review
STXfilms (United States)
With the exclusion of a few titles under his cap, director Guy Ritchie has mostly replicated his plots for the past twenty-five years. Having his universe of copy+paste indie-mob flicks, based solely on the cast and how many times they can find new entertaining ways to curse, isn't the worst career to possess in film these days. But it's not necessarily the most exciting either.

Sleazy private investigator Fletcher (Hugh Grant) tracks down the dirty business arrangements between cannabis tycoon Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey) and an American millionaire Matthew Berger (Jeremy Strong). With the intel he discovers, he attempts to bribe Mickey’s right-hand man Raymond (Charlie Hunnam), and that's just not going to sit well with at all.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Top Nomination Picks for The 92nd Academy Awards

From epic war features to compelling dramas, Hollywood churns out quality films and performances worthy of recognition all year long. Out of the mass selection of potential nominees, only a sliver goes all the way to the Oscars. As nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards were announced this past January, the fervor of who will win at this year's award show became a traditional hot-topic debate between critics and movie goers. With the prestigious ceremony on its way February 9th, 2020, it's time to share my top picks of potential winners from Best Original Score to Best Picture.

Who do you hope will win at the 92nd Academy Awards? Feel free to share your thoughts and your picks in the comments below!