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Jane Austin’s Emma is no stranger to the big screen adaptions. Amy Heckerling and Douglas McGrath’s versions of the Novel certainly made their mark on pop-culture where they are talked about till today, however, Autumn de Wilde’s latest adaption managed to outshine the previous ones despite the odds.

Emma Woodhouse played phenomenally by Anya Taylor-Joy, is an entitled beautiful woman who enjoys matchmaking her friends and family despite the lack of romance is her personal life. Emma sets her latest skills to find a suitable match for her friend Harriet Smith, Mia Goth, which starts off a hilarious adventure of friendship, love, and sorrow. There’s no unexpected twists and turns to the plot, even if you’ve never read Emma, the plot is more than familiar due to its impact on popular culture. The movie deliverers what it promises in the trailer, a hilarious period comedy filled with joyfulness and laughter.

The aesthetics of the Regency period was exquisitely detailed and executed. I loved the production and costume design, the dresses, hairstyles, and most importantly, the hats were intricate with details and over the top feel of the wealth of the characters. The soft pastel color palette occupied with the dynamic camera-work makes the already elegant scenery even more gorgeous.

Emma’s witty dialogue was hilarious and a bit too fast-paced, which might have undermined the emotional moments a little. The real comedy-gold though was the cast who got me laughing from facial expression alone. Anya Taylor-Joy is an indisputable talent that shines and Mia Goth wears her character like a fine silk glove that leaves you wrapped around her fingers. I loved Tanya Reynolds Mrs. Elton, her performance made me laugh the hardest.

Emma, despite all odds, managed to outshine all previous film adaptions before it. Autumn de Wilde’s directing is an impressive work on a genre that is, unfortunately, a lacking presence in the box office. It is filled with hilarious moments, joyous score and unbelievable performances from an outstanding cast.





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 43 years ago, Star Wars: A New Hope, came out. Since then it spanned 11 live-action movies, video games, and TV shows. It is not an understatement to imply that the Star Wars franchise has the largest and most dedicated fan base out there. While a huge fan-base is a big advantage to a movie studio, it can be dodgy when you don’t know how to treat and manage them. In an effort to appease a wide demographic of fans ranging from Boomers to Genz, Disney was left grasping at straws and the fandom turned more toxic than ever.

     The problem started when ‘The Force Awakens’ was first released. Older Star Wars fans protested the existence of a female protagonist as a lead. They used Rey’s characterization to criticize the creative choices made in the movie, and while it seemed harmless, it was anything but. The innocuous critique quickly turned sexist, going as far as insulting the actors personally. One Star Wars fan who I talked to recalled the treatment John Boyega was subjected to when The Force Awakens was announced “Some people started a campaign against John Boyega to boycott the movie because his character, Finn, has a main role in the sequel trilogy. They were racist towards him and harassed him even before the movie was out.”. The attacks didn’t stop after the first movie of the sequel trilogy came out, in fact, it reached its peak with the release of the Last Jedi. Almost everyone recalls the infamous female-absent version being spread online. The fan continued “Later, a group of people who called themselves “The Fandom Menace” turned their outrage mainly against Kelly Marie Tran, but also Daisy Ridley, Kathleen Kennedy and again John Boyega after the release of The Last Jedi and started a movement called “No More Force Diversity”, targeting the women and POC of Star Wars specifically.” .


     While generalization is often not accurate and misleading, it is fairly safe to presume that some of the older demographic of the fandom are the ones against diversity in the new Star Wars films, while the younger ones are championing it. After the backlash from the Last Jedi, Disney was left scrambling trying to please a fandom instead of focusing on producing a quality body of work. The fans took notice of the absence of Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose from the marketing of the Rise of Skywalker, and the reason was pretty clear when it premiered. Her character, Rose, was basically erased from existence due to the constant racist harassment the actress received on social media, which lead to her deleting her accounts on these platforms. A group of fans, more specifically ‘Reylos’, who describe themselves as a “diverse community of POC, women, lgbt+, disabled, Jewish and Muslim people among others, who dealt with harassment in real life or online before..” made a collection of fan art, cosplay pictures and fan letters into a scrapbook and gave it to Kelly Marie Tran.

     With the release of the Rise of Skywalker, we got to see the fans fighting back. The movements started with the Fundraiser for Adam Driver’s charity, that reached 70k and counting, to the ‘Saving What We Love’ fundraiser inspired by Kelly Marie Tran. The latter raised over 4k in a span of only hours and it is aimed towards ‘Cybersmile Foundation’, an international non-profit providing support for victims of cyberbullying and online hate campaigns. Twitter user @roguewn, who started ‘Saving What We Love’ explains her goal for the fundraiser “We hope that people will join us in trying to create a safer online space across all social platforms for everyone to enjoy and at the same time we’re raising funds for an organization that works every day to achieve exactly the same goal. It might seem like an impossible dream and we know it won’t happen in the span of a few days and because of a single campaign, but if Star Wars has taught us something, that is that we can be the spark that will light the fire.”



      It is quite expected to judge a movie based on our expectation of it instead of what it actually is. And that problem continues to be hazardous in big franchises. The bigger the fandom, the bigger the expectations. And with big expectations studios are left trying to please everybody while struggling to give creative control to filmmakers. Making movies is no longer a one-way street. When everyone wants to create universes instead of stand-alone films, you have to admit that the fans will have a say in the process. How big of a part can fans participate in? Do they get some fan service scenes, or will the entire creative process be dependent on their Reddit threads? Whatever the answer may be, it is unfair to turn a blind eye to the ray of light we’re seeing lately. From fundraisers to hashtags, the new generation of Star Wars fans is taking a stand against bullying and harassment. And while we still have a long way to go to eliminate fandom toxicity, hope is not yet lost.




Big Thanks to @roguewn for indulging me with an interview.   

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Killer clown and painting houses. 2019 has been an extraordinary year for movies, it witnessed great cinema moments like the culmination of the biggest movie franchise of all time, Martin Scorsese’s Netflix debut, and the entry of the first R rated movie in the billion-dollar club. From Bong Joon-ho to David Leitch, here’s our top to movies of 2019.




1) Parasite





Bong Joon-ho's Parasite is a story about a prideful but desperate family trying to crawl their way up from their poverty through minimum wage jobs for another oblivious rich family. It made me ask myself questions that I would normally never think about, are rich people nice? or are they nice because they’re rich? It is quite heartbreaking seeing the lengths people are willing to go just so they can simply live, and the film's commentary on how class solitary can trump patriotism resonates globally. Parasite is a funny heartbreaking experience that will make you ask questions and reflect on your reality. Its social commentary is nothing new, but the way the film goes about it is vastly superior.


2) The Irishman



Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman is not just a movie, it’s also a testament to his unparalleled originality even in a genre so well explored within his filmography. The three and a half hour epic jumps through time telling the story of a real-life hitman Frank Sheeran played by ‘Robert De Niro’ who was accused of killing Jimmy Hoffa ‘Al Pacino’. The genre certainly isn’t new to Scorsese, De Niro, and Al Pacino, but the vulnerability of this film feels like a jarring goodbye to it. The Irishman portrays the real life of the mob that was absent in Goodfellas, it shows the remorse and brutality behind the glamour. The Irishman is an intimidating yet melancholic wild ride that begins with a bang and ends with a parting shot that would haunt your mind for a while.



3) US



US is a film that could easily be mistaken for mediocre, however, it’s anything but. If you really pay attention you’ll find yourselves discovering new details and connections after every re-watch. Jordan Peele’s US lacks Get Out’s obvious social commentary, but it proves it can stand on its own without it. The horror film has a simple plot about a family who is haunted by their doppelgangers on their beach vacation, but the twists and thriller elements are what really elevate this from other movies in its genre. You will not find out the reason why this is happening until the very end, but the wait will be worth it.



4) Joker




What happens when you push a man too far? You get what you deserve. Joker is about a broken man living in an unforgiving society that refuses to take the blame for the monster that he has become. Despite the graphic violence that takes place the scariest aspect of this film is how real and accurate it is. The film is set in the 80s in a fictional city yet a lot of what was happening feels very true to our current time and place. From child abuse stories that we read almost daily on the headlines to society’s unfair treatment of mentally ill people, the parallelisms are nothing short of dead-on and melancholic.



5) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood



Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Tarantino’s most mature work to date. The film is filled with his typical violence, unforeseeable outcomes, and intelligent comedic relief. The obvious events this film is portraying are handled very well and remain respectful. While it is not for everyone, Once Upon a time remains a masterful storytelling construct told through marvelous locations. As soon as you finish watching it you’ll want to watch it again, it is an addicting, riveting and engrossing experience for cinema lovers.



6) The Farewell



It is considered a noble tradition in China for a family to hide the fact that someone is terminally ill from him so that they can live out the rest of their lives in peace. This piece of information is what this film is based on. Billie played by Awkwafina delivers a heartbreaking performance as a granddaughter struggling and battling her emotions from telling the truth to her grandmother. The farewell is a well-directed, acted, written film about morality and culture.


7) Knives Out



Unlike most murder mystery genre films today, Rian Johnson’s Knives Out will never leave you bored. Instead of one final big reveal, Knives out aims to alter your reality with mind-blowing plot twists throughout its two-hour run-time. The film starts with the death of a celebrity author ‘Harlan Thrombey’ that leads to the reunion of his family members hoping to claim his inheritance. However, their ambitions get delayed once a private investigator gets involved in the author’s mysterious death. The high profile cast looks like they’re having fun during every minute of the movie which translates easily to the audience. The humor is effortless and impactful, it never feels redundant or lazy. Overall, Johnson’s ability to add an original touch to anything he touches will always be a win for cinema.




8) Clemency



If you watched The Green Mile and it made you uncomfortable, then don’t watch this. Clemency dives way deeper than The Green Mile did in the same subject matter that is bound to make you uneasy and a bit nauseous. It’s a difficult watch, but it’s worth it. Alfre Woodard deliverers an Oscar-worthy performance playing a prison warden Bernadine Williams who is preparing to execute another inmate. The film deals with Williams's demons as she struggles to carry out her job on an inmate whom she shares a special connection with.


9) Glass



While it does feel like it came out ages ago, it was only this year. M. Night Shyamalan continues to flip the superhero genre and treat it as his own Frankenstein, and it works. Glass is this year's most criminally underrated movie that is meant to give us closure to our favorite morally corrupt heroes. It has a great twist that leaves the door open for more films to follow through, while also remaining consistent enough to stand on its own.




10)  Hobbs & Shaw



This is not a great piece of cinema, it’s just a great piece of fun. We are currently going through the epidemic of passable movies, and Hobbs & Shawn reigns supreme. It doesn’t have some philosophical message or a grand script, it’s just a movie filled with Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson bickering and fighting each other and some bad guys. It is filled with explosions, unrealistic car jumping feats and family. What more do we honestly want?



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Almost three years ago The Last Jedi came out, and the reactions were intense, to put it mildly. The Last Jedi challenged nostalgia, gave us new heroes, new villains, and new story-lines. The Last Jedi didn’t feel complete which is understandable since the story is not finished yet. The epic culmination was supposed to be in The Rise of Skywalker, however, that didn’t happen. The Rise of Skywalker is not a bad movie, it has the typical over-the-top CGI heavy materials and epic fight scenes. Kylo and Rey’s lightsaber fights throughout the film were the best in Star Wars history, every fight was better than the previous one. I loved the bits where Chris Terrio’s script shines through and I wished it was used more. Star Wars have always been about good story-telling, and that’s why it can have all the right elements of a good blockbuster and it wouldn’t matter if the story is not good. The film felt like someone read a Reddit thread of everything wrong in The Last Jedi and filmed it. They introduced an old/new villain without explaining the how, why and where. Efforts were made to oppose the criticism of Mary-Sue Rey but instead, it ignored her entire arc and build a new flimsy one instead. Great characters with unlimited potential like Finn, Rose, and Hux were sidelined and barley used in any meaningful way, while the one character that was given more depth like Poe made me wish they didn’t go through that effort. Adam Driver, as usual, delivered a powerful performance fitting for the greatest Star Wars character since Darth Vader. Driver’s character, Kylo, just like Rose, Finn, and Hux had a lot of potential but unfortunately, it ended up being more hopeless than his character in Marriage Story. The only hopeful thing about this film is Rey’s relationship with Leia and Leia’s scenes with Luke. Leia and Luke’s scenes were very well done even though they ended up being meaningless after the completion of Kylo’s arc. You’re not going to have a bad time watching this film, but from a personal point of view of a dedicated fan like me, it felt like Disney used nostalgia in The Rise of Skywalker to destroy every bit of hope left in the Star Wars saga.

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   Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story is one of Netflix’s biggest contenders this award season. The tedious divorce story about two selfish/narcissistic artists who place their self-interest over their relationship and even their son is nothing but a pain to sit through. The film doesn’t put anything new on the table, it takes some psychological turns attempting to portray the journey of a failed relationship, but that attempt is not compelling enough to make the story-telling seamless. None of the characters make any intellectual or emotional progress from their journey, and lessons are not learned. No matter how much the script tells us of the love shared between Nicole and Charlie, it just doesn’t translate this way on screen. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson have absolutely no chemistry together, and it’s not for the lack of trying from the latter. Driver deliverers his best performance to date; too bad it’s in this film; where his quite emotional moments shine more than his loud ones. The loud moments would have been better if Scarlett Johansson’s performance was less wooden and more convincing. Laura Dern was one of the few high points of the film, she makes a very credible divorce attorney doubled as a friend. And the final high point goes to Robbie Ryan, his very simple but nevertheless beautiful cinematography elevated the film a bit. Overall, Marriage Story is a basic cheese pizza that had been tried over and over again, with no new toppings to make the taste remember-able or even slightly intriguing. 
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        Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman is not just a movie, it’s also a testament to his unparalleled originality even in a genre so well explored within his filmography. The three and a half hour epic jumps through time telling the story of a real-life hitman Frank Sheeran played by ‘Robert De Niro’ who was accused of killing Jimmy Hoffa ‘Al Pacino’. The genre certainly isn’t new to Scorsese, De Niro, and Al Pacino, but the vulnerability of this film feels like a jarring goodbye to it. The Irishman portrays the real life of the mob that was absent in Goodfellas, it shows the remorse and brutality behind the glamour. The almost four-hour build up lives up to the main event but it neglects other aspects of the film that could easily be expanded upon like Frank’s relationship with his daughter Peggy ‘Anna Paquin’. ‘De Nero’ delivered one of, if not the best performance of his career, the phone call scene is simply a masterclass in acting. ‘Al Pacino’ who played Hoffa, whom I admit that I know very little about, gave his character the dramatic antics it required even if his accent was a bit shaky and inconsistent. The best performance, however, goes to ‘Joe Pesci’ who played Russell Bufalino in an intimidating but still soft-spoken way which is a stark contrast to his character in Goodfellas. I understand how the use of the DE-aging technology is meant to increase the emotional impact and make the time transitions of the film more fluid but it didn’t translate well. I found the CGI to be jarring and almost distracting in times especially when the characters moved around. The characters obliviously looked like young faces on old bodies. ‘Thelma Schoonmaker's’ out of this world editing made ignoring the CGI distractions more bearable. Overall I would have loved to watch The Irishman on the big screen, but the film’s locations, duration, and ‘Rodrigo Prieto’s’ impressive cinematography felt more suited for streaming. I feel lucky to exist in a time where masters of their crafts like Scorsese continue to impress and add their originality to the creatively dull industry controlled by monopolies today. The Irishman is an intimidating yet melancholic wild ride that begins with a bang and ends with a parting shot that would haunt your mind for a while. 
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You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan. No plan at all. It is hard to contain Bong Joon-ho's Parasite in one genre, the closest thing I can segment this movie in is the masterpiece category. Parasite is a story about a prideful but desperate family trying to crawl their way up from their poverty through minimum wage jobs for another oblivious rich family. While Joker brings up the topic of class differences and the injustice of it all, Parasite manages to tread the thin line between poverty porn and social commentary in a much elaborate and overall better way. It had me laughing at situations that I would normally tear up at in real life, and had my heart speeding up uncontrollably while the action sequences fell like dominoes. Parasite made me ask myself questions that I would normally never think about, are rich people nice? or are they nice because they’re rich? It is quite heartbreaking seeing the lengths people are willing to go just so they can simply live, and the film's commentary on how class solitary can trump patriotism resonates globally. I loved Hong Kyung-Pyo's work on Snowpiercer and his work on Parasite is equally phenomenal if it not more so. The space given in the film with the marvel of a house they shot in was used impeccably, and Jeong Jae-il’s score easily surpass his work on Okja. Kang-ho Song who normally outshine everyone he’s sharing the screen with does not disappoint with Parasite, however, So-dam Park who plays his daughter comes close. Yeo-Jeong Jo plays the simpleton rich housewife perfectly, it was kind of chilling how close her character measures up to real-life people I’ve met. Parasite is a funny heartbreaking experience that will make you ask questions and reflect on your reality. Its social commentary is nothing new, but the way the film goes about it is vastly superior. When it comes to this movie believe the hype, because it is worth it.
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What happens when you push a man too far? You get what you deserve. When the Joker movie was announced I was fairly certain that it was going to be a waste of time, and that belief intensified when Todd Phillips was attached to the project, despite Joaquin Phoenix’s involvement too. However, my opinion quickly changed when the first trailer dropped, and what a memorable moment it was. I couldn’t believe that Tod Phillips really had it in him, but he did. Phillips delivered what I consider to be one of the greatest criticism on society in an art form, and the fact that there is so much push back against this movie proves me right.


Before I talk about Joaquin Phoenix I’m going to try and be honest first. I don’t think I can string up a sentenced well-structured enough to explain how epic his performance was. I felt every pain he went through, I teared up when he did and almost laughed with him at the injustice he went through. The amount of dedication it took Phoenix to reach the physical and mental state of this character is something I can’t comprehend. I didn’t even care about other people’s performance during this movie, and it certainly wasn’t just Phoenix’s screen time that caused him to outshine everyone else. I find it very rare, even with a character study film, for an actor to outshine the plot but Phoenix captivated me so thoroughly that I found myself willing to spend hours just watching him descend lower and lower into darkness on the beat of Rock 'N' Roll. Which brings me to my next point, Hildur Guðnadóttir’s formidable score. I am not exaggeration whats so ever when I say that I still have goosebumps from the bathroom dance scene soundtrack. Even right now I am writing this review while listening to it on Youtube. Guðnadóttir’s work on Joker was just as phenomenal as her work on Chernobyl, and that’s the highest compliment I can think of. Lawrence Sher’s beautifully enthralling cinematography was not a surprise since I loved his work on Godzilla. I loved how even though it is rare for a comic book movie to look so gloomy  Sher made it look so befitting.


Joker is about a broken man living in an unforgiving society that refuses to take the blame for the monster that he has become. Despite the graphic violence that takes place the scariest aspect of this film is how real and accurate it is. The film is set in the 80s in a fictional city yet a lot of what was happening feels very true to our current time and place. From child abuse stories that we read almost daily on the headlines to society’s unfair treatment of mentally ill people, the parallelisms are nothing short of dead-on and melancholic. I can’t find a reason why someone would leave the theater thinking that any of Joker’s actions are right or deserved, and if people did then they are the ones being criticized in this work of art. 
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