Little Talks

From the moment that Thor enters the scene in the first Avengers movie , there is one question that continually arises, slowly gaining traction until it all comes to a head phase 3's Civil War (which will be discussed in a subsequent post). We see it in the mistrust between Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the members of the Avengers team. It plays out in covert government operations and secretive weapon-building programs as much as it does in the need-to-know style of operations frequently undertaken by our heroes. As any great Spider-man fan knows, "with great power comes great responsibility." But what happens when no one trusts the powerful people to be appropriately responsible in their actions? The question at the root of Hydra's subterfuge and the plot to use S.H.I.E.L.D. technology for murderous purposes is essentially the same as the one that spawned Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's comicbook masterpiece , and it is this: "Who watches the Watchmen?" If t...

The Greatest Showman  was one of the greatest movies of the last few years. The catchy tunes, the exploration of the human condition, and the message of self-love were enough to propel the movie to a spot of lasting fame and notoriety among fans and the entertainment industry alike. Besides, it had a pretty solid cast of familiar faces and a few breakout performers. It was fascinating to hear, as the movie quickly gained traction, that this was a story which Hugh Jackman had hoped to tell for a long time. I wondered while watching it what had so intrigued him about P.T. Barnum that he wanted to immortalize the man on screen—why did he want to tell Barnum's life story? Something special It is clear from this film that Barnum was unique. His mind worked in such a different way than the rest of the people around him. While the movie depicts this through his particular brand of imagination and inventive thinking as a child leading to an illustrious career, in reality he was a tr...

The story of Frankenstein is one that has been told and retold so many times and in so many ways. When I heard the title of this particular rendition, I was interested by the fact that this more than any other acknowledges that the story is more about the character of Victor than it ever was about the monster. If you know the original novel, then you know that the story is about a young man whose mother passes away just before he moves to university. Having always been interested with alchemy, science, and the occult, Victor dives into his obsessions and, fed by his depression, he seeks a way to overcome death (but by creating life rather than undoing death). His life is subsequently ruined by his own actions and inability to cope with his mother's death when he creates a monster that despises him for giving it life and leaving it to fend for itself. Thus when I heard about Victor Frankenstein , I thought the movie might explore more of the main character's emotional develo...

[This post contains spoilers for anyone who has not seen this movie—read at your own risk. You have been warned.] While Thor: Ragnarok  may stand out as the favourite installment to date in the Asgardian god's story because of it's bright visuals, strong comedic writing, and better character development, we might also consider the important lesson it has for us regarding starting over. The story places its main focus on the development of the title character as he finally comes to accept his role and responsibility, but what this narrative is really about is a people struggling to survive the secrets of their past. Knowing that they are potentially facing their end, these people are fighting for a future, and one that is free of evil, death, and destruction. Their hope for a prosperous future, for a better life, for a new start, is something that I think we can all relate with. Few of us can probably say that our misdeeds have ever caused the damage that Asgard experience...

[Warning: this post contains spoilers for the movie] It may be said that private detective Hercule Poirot's quirks and OCD tendencies are a part of the character's charms. Yet, in this story of murder and mystery, they are symbolic of so much more. Poirot's proclivities From the first moments of Murder on the Orient Express , there are a few things that are clearly established about the famed fictional Belgian detective. First, that Poirot is extremely particular. As he continually measures and inspects the eggs he is brought for his breakfast, it is evident that Poirot has a tendency toward balance in his life. More than that, though, he is more detail-oriented than the average person. Who else would be so specific about the similarity of their eggs that they would require exact measurements to be sure? On top of that, he then goes on to solve the case of a missing relic with no clues aside from a crack in a wall (coupled with his awareness of the suspects' ...

Finding your place in the world (or, adolescence) The teenage years can be stressful, awkward, and enlightening. It is during this crucial epoch in our lives that we begin to gain a fuller awareness of the world around us; our eyes are opened to the truth of the human condition, to the realities of social injustice and environmental concerns. As we move from childhood to adulthood, we come to realize—if we haven't already—that things aren't always fair, and we life won't always go the way we want it to. At the same time, we are aware of the growing pressures and responsibilities being placed on us as we make more decisions for ourselves and prepare to step up and take our place in the world. And it can be awkward, when we still feel like children, to try to understand who we are and what we are doing with our lives. It is in this integral stage of life that we meet the protagonist of our story, Jake. Though we don't see a lot of his day-to-day life, we get the fe...

It's been a long time since I've regularly been on this blog, so I'm going to try to get back to that. I'm starting today with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. There will be spoilers for this and future MCU movies, so please read at your own risk. The problem with fathers The second installment in the Guardians of the Galaxy  series was, if I'm being honest, full of a lot of cliches. Honestly, the whole idea of the Guardians and thier backstories is built on the idea that family is not about blood relations. That theme runs through a lot of the GOTG storylines, when I look back on it all now. For example: Thanos, despite being an adopted father to Gamora and Nebula, is their "legal" parent, I suppose (the quotations are there because he did sort of kidnap them, despite the fact that he raised them and they seemed to remain relatively loyal for most of their lives). However, neither of the girls is happy having him as a father; they are not really comfor...

[Warning: spoilers ahead...although, frankly, you might read this and realize that this film is not what you would have expected. As always, read at your own risk.] The Witch  is not exactly a horror movie in the classic sense. It is, however, a great example of Gothic horror, which is why I was assigned this film for a class on--you guessed it--Gothic horror. Why is not traditional? Well, there aren't a lot of jump scares or gory moments (although it does have a few moments that come close). There also really isn't a whole lot that happens throughout the span of the movie, other than the slow unraveling of a family in crisis. Unlike Final Destination  or The Shining , our characters don't spend a lot of time investigating or running from the supernatural things that plague them. Also, they speak as one would expect early Puritan settlers to speak. Side note: I love Ralph Ineson, but between his deep voice and the Old English dialect (much of which is taken directly...

[Warning: spoiler alert. If you have not seen Gifted , read at your own risk.] That's right, internet, it's me! I have returned! Now that I write blogs for my job, I've had far less time and motivation to do it for myself. But I think it will be good for me to pick up where I left off and try to keep updating my content. So here we go! When my family suggested watching Gifted  for our movie night, I knew very little aside from the fact that it was a custody battle over a genius child happening between her grandmother and her uncle (played by Chris Evans!). It had potential, and we couldn't agree on much else, so I agreed. Interestingly, this movie touched on a topic that I have long been grappling with: how to deal with differences. Young Mary is a child prodigy who is being raised by her uncle after her mother's death. Problems quickly arise when Frank decides to send Mary to a public school instead of continuing her education at home. She doesn't like the ...

To the untrained eye, Doctor Strange is nothing more than a superhero story or a journey of self-discovery. But I am here to tell you that it is actually a story about idols. "Idols?!" you say, "I saw no weird little gods. Devil worship, or something of that sort, maybe." That's true. Of course, I'm not talking about the mysticism at all. The idol in this particular tale is success. Stephen Strange, like so many medical professionals, has spent his entire life training and over-working in hopes of achieving great success and notability. His skills are renowned, and his job is the most important thing in his life. So important, in fact, that when a dangerous car crash destroys his hands and takes away his ability to operate, he throws his life away as he feels that it is hardly worth living. He continues on a mission to find a way to restore his hands, meeting a man who happily explains to him that he found a cure for partial paralysis in a mystic alternat...

[Warning: This post contains major spoilers... Seriously, if you have not seen this movie then DO NOT read this post! It will ruin everything!] The Prestige is an amazing movie because it keeps you guessing the entire time. And the best part? The solution is the simplest, and perhaps most obvious, one you could think of (especially if you are familiar with the ways of the old magicians) and yet the writers encourage you to dismiss such a simple solution at every turn. As the audience, we are taken on a journey along with Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman!) exploring the relationship between science and magic. Angier, always trying to best his fellow magician Alfred Borden (Christian Bale...seriously, this cast is awesome!) wants to figure out how to make himself disappear from one place and appear in another, but he doesn't want to share the limelight with anyone else, so he goes to speak to the greatest "magician" he can find: Nicola Tesla. "But Tesla is a scientist!...

[Warning: Contains spoilers] At first glance, Peter Parker is your average teenager. Yet, underneath that nerdy façade lies the heart of a hero with and powers contracted from a spider bite (which, interestingly, Marvel has chosen not to portray in this round of films). What is interesting about this is that Peter truly does appear to most people as nothing more than a high school student from Queens. Unlike other Avengers -- *cough* Tony *cough* -- Peter does everything he can to hide his identity for the sake of protecting his aunt. This kid, who is equally brilliant, intelligent, and brave, chooses not to let the world know who he is. In fact, he objects to their ever knowing. Let us consider this for one second: Peter fought with the Avengers in a massive and particularly public conflict, and yet he tells NO ONE! Not his aunt, not his best friend...not even the girl he has a crush on who has openly confessed her feelings for his alter ego. And then comes the kicker. Ned, the loy...

[Warning: may contain spoilers. If you haven't seen this movie, you've been warned.] For a children's movie, The Boss Baby  does meta fiction pretty well. It is a story told by a young boy (although he is now grown up) about how he got his new brother. But the one thing that runs through his whole tale is the fact that adults never believe childrens' stories. They think that it is all just a result of limitless imagination, and so they never take kids seriously. Yet the movie is intentionally ambiguous about whether Tim's account, even though he is an adult, is true.  It would seem ridiculous to create babies like some kind of assembly-line product and have some babies assigned to work instead of families. Even more ridiculous is the plot to out-cute babies by breeding new the perfect puppy. And yet, in the world of cartoons, this is more than possible.  What leaves you guessing is the fact that Tim and Boss Baby are the only characters who seem to see things this w...

Perhaps I don't remember much of the movie after all this time, or perhaps there really was not as much of a deep and impactful message to be gleaned. It was good, but it was nothing to special. Yes, there is the obvious underlying idea that "just because it's what is done does not mean it's what should be done", but I think this is something about which our society has become particularly aware. I do not think that we should still have to be explaining that a few years down the road, but when the film came out this certainly served as a good reminder about all of the less-than-preferable elements engrained in our society. What I have always found most interesting about this movie is the key place it holds in the development of Disney's live-action reboot efforts. Beginning with Maleficent (a retelling more than a reboot) and extending to Beauty and the Beast , the current lineup of reboots follows a progression from recreation to replication. When Maleficent ...

[Warning: if you have not seen this movie, this post contains spoilers] About Time  is a unique time travel movie because it conceives of and understands time travelling in a new way, at least compared to most other things I've seen. For starters, these men can't go to any time and place whether it be past, present, or future. Instead they can only go back and relive events in their own lives. Following the classic time travel rules, changing key events can alter things dramatically in the future, and this frequently leaves the main character at a crossroads between preventing tragedies in his own life and changing his children. Births are important events, and we learn that travelling beyond that will inevitably cause a different child to be born. But otherwise, small changes don't always have to have big consequences. Time tends to work itself out. Time travel ends up being used, not for altering the past, but for reliving it. The main character, Tim, uses his powers to v...

I want to start with a little disclaimer. If you have read my blog before, you may be expecting a review. But I'd like to do more than just tell you what the movie is about and what I thought (the same goes for books). So let's see how this goes this summer. When discussing the movie  The Shack , it is hard to ignore the negative feedback that the book has received. Some people are quite concerned with the depiction of God. They say it is too casual, too familiar, perhaps even too loving (as in not as focussed on justice, sin, right and wrong). But these people are forgetting a few important things. One, this is a work of fiction. While it feels like it could (or should) be a true story, and resonates with certain real incidents, it is in fact a fictional story that is meant to demonstrate how God can work in the lives of individuals. Are we to believe that God will manifest himself as a black woman who cooks for us, a young carpenter, or an Asian girl who likes to garden? ...

I grew up watching old Wonder Woman  reruns with my mom and my sister after school. I don't remember much besides the invisible plane (a plastic model with Barbie dolls inside, hanging in front of a cloud background) and Diana's rather obvious disguise, but I know that we always had fun watching together. So, of course, when the new Wonder Woman movie was announced my mom immediately made my sister and I promise that we would go see it together. The trailers looked very promising, but the awful experience of watching Batman v. Superman  had me worried. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised by the film. The plot was good; it had all of the right drama and intrigue, and made sure not to take itself too seriously. There were, as with all good movies, moments of comedy, romance, action, tension, and cinematic beauty. The classic good versus evil narrative structure that defines the superhero genre was used well, one might even say cleverly because the enemy remains faceless, in a...

The last instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean  franchise was a bit of a full-circle moment in many ways, especially for my friends and me. "In what ways?" you might ask. Well, for one, my best friend introduced me to the franchise when we were 10 and we desperately wanted to become pirates. I attribute my longing for adventure to these movies. I distinctly remember that many of our birthday parties (especially my bff's) revolved around pirate themes, had pirate cakes, or consisted of our little group going to the theatre to see the latest Pirates  film. We went to see Dead Men Tell No Tales  as a spur-of-the-moment thing for my best friend's birthday this summer - and as we've been moving into new phases in our lives, it felt right that the franchise was also wrapping up. In terms of the movie itself, the original characters all returned, and their stories were finally happily resolved. The proper young girl in love with the adventurous young man of pirating...

[Warning: This post contains spoilers] The X-Men movies have never been, shall we say, well received. They are certainly not the worst superhero movies out there, and true Marvel fans enjoy them nonetheless. Logan felt quite different from the rest of the franchise. It was missing all of the hokieness of the originals, the team atmosphere of the later films, and the overall adventure of the franchise. Logan follows in the dystopian trend of the last few years, evoking something of a Mad Max idea. The social commentary provided by the dynamic between Xavier and Magneto is evidently missing from this film, but the exploration of a future in which mutants are being hunted and killed was something that I think the franchise needed (especially since Days of Future Past spent a lot of time in the past). For so long, these films have been asking us what it means to be different and where those who are different belong. But what would really happen if the world turned on them? Of cours...

The Disney live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast appeared, from the trailers, to be nothing more than a replica of the original animated movie. The details were somewhat different (obviously), but the story clearly wasn't going to change and the scenes were done exactly the same way. Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my favourite Disney movies, or at least Belle has always been my favourite princess. I was extremely happy to see that they had cast Emma Watson in the role, because she is perfect for it! But I worried that the movie might not be that interesting if nothing changed. After all, the live-action remakes began during the height of the rewritten fairy-tale trend (see Maleficent and Cinderella , also Once Upon a Time ). As disappointed as I might be with an altered storyline, I was hoping for a new angle on things. Watching this on the plane ride home over the summer, I was happily surprised to discover that the narrative was largely unchanged, but th...