Movies

31
Dec
2020

WONDER WOMAN 1984: HIT OR MISS?

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If you’ve been asking yourself questions like ‘Should I see WW84?’ ‘Is it interesting or worth my time?’ You need to stop asking and read about the movie. At least, that is what I do before seeing a very popular film. Let us all be honest, Marvel’s ‘Wonder woman’ was simply amazing! Marvel cinematic Universe seem to prove over and over again that they can always do it best. I think this is why few people have doubts about DC versions of Marvel franchises. But let’s save those doubts for another day and get into WW84!

Plot

First of all, great way to start a story. A lot of DC and Marvel movies start with the main character telling a story with a deep voice before anything comes up on the screen, and it gets us all the time!. In ‘Black Panther’, it was King T’Challa’s voice we first heard. The scene opening creates an intrigue that leaves us hungry for the whole movie. I also love the fact that there is a very subtle but significant connection between little Princess Diana’s cheat in the race and how the whole storyline unfolds to be a ‘Cheat-Monkey-paw’ situation.

Besides, I love the fact that they kept us thrilled in wondering how captain Steve came back(before we ever saw the movie). I also fell in love with how the wishes came to pass and how Max Lord got something precious in return from those he granted wishes to. For Diana, it was her powers. It signifies how some things we want come at really great cost.

Meanwhile, the storyline is not entirely unique. I mean, if you have seen ‘Aladdin’ and how they make wishes work, you can expect something similar. But for a DC movie, this storyline is a slight departure to the custom DC narratives where there is an evil monster on the loose seeking powers to destroy the world. If you have seen ‘Justice League’, you should know what I am talking about.

WW84 was kinda off to a slow start, and that was probably what inspired the idea of an introductory action scene which kept us glued throughout.

VISUALS

Great FX by the way. If you don’t know what this means, it is an editing tool used to create unreal things into an illusion-like reality for viewers. For example, if you watched ‘Game of thrones’, Danearys was not flying on a dragon back. In fact, she sat on a dragon shaped object the entire time.

Also, attention was not paid to the details involving crisis scenes. In crisis scenes, there is a lot going on and we don’t seem to care too much about the flaws that we see on screen. The crisis covers it all up. But in WW84, it was far-fetched. ‘Lord Max’ is asking people to declare their wishes in a broadcast antenna miles away from his office and suddenly, he sees his son in the television wondering in confusion around his office, and then he walks out quickly to meet him seconds later. Where is the logic?

Conclusion

Honestly, I think people’s expectations for WW84 was set just too high and this may have led to the disappointment some people had after seeing the movie. Apart from these, you should definitely watch WW84. It is a beaut and it is impressive how it covers social issues like sexual harassment and how people deal with insecurities. Embedding all these themes in a DC movie is excellent!

WW84 (Ratings)
Plot- 2 (Out of 3)
Visuals- 3 (Of 3)
Believability-1 (Of 2)
Action- 2 (Of 2)
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8

Posted by Olayiide Bolaji in Movies, 2 comments
28
Dec
2020
Top 20 2020 movies

Top 20 2020 movies

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We bring you the top twenty movies in the year 2020. These movies are chosen based on ratings or popularity or societal impact. Therefore, in no particular order, we give you the top 20 2020 movies

1 Bigfoot family
Genre- Animation, action, comedy.
IMDB: 5.9/10
If you have seen its prequel- ‘Son of bigfoot’, then you might have to wonder what Bigfoot family would be about, but then, we know we are in for an experience. A lot of animations tend to gravitate towards addressing social ills or problems that confront humanity in their day to day activities, but hardly do you see one focus on human’s behavior to the environment. With his fame, Bigfoot wants to protect a large wildlife reserve in Alaska. If I had heard this before seeing the movie, I would have passed it up. But it turned out to not only be educative, but still retain its wit and focus on family.

2. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas journey
Genre: Musical film, fantasy.
IMDB: 6.5/10
If you have seen ‘The greatest showman’, then you wouldn’t want to miss out on this movie. Kudos to the costume designers. The outfits in this movie is so lit and the story line is as beautiful. I love the fact that the writers succeeded in making us see Jeronicus as an intelligent innovator. The story focuses on him getting attention through his innovations in a little city as he tried to make a special robot which would be a breakthrough innovation. He must assure himself of his innate ability to create when his designs are stolen by his apprentice.

3 Kevin Hart: Zero f***ks given
Genre: Comedy, stand-up comedy.
I think the special thing about this comedy is not only that Kevin Hart held it in his own living room, it is the fact that he presented relatable issues in a very funny and naked way; without holding anything back. Kevin is probably the funniest man on earth, and if you see this Netflix special, you are in for a very good laugh.

4. Black is king
IMDB: 5.5/10
Genre: Musical film.
Beyonce’s ‘Black is king’ is a perfect representation of her message in ‘Lion king: The gift album. If you heard this album, you might not understand a part of what the album said, but if you watch this music film, it will accentuate the significance of her message on the album. This film is so unique because of how it perfectly connects and represents the African and African- American culture. Beyonce and her team must have done a lot of research and gone through a lot while making the film, and it totally reflects in the creativity embedded in the work of art.

5 Spell
GENRE: Horror, action, thriller.
IMDB: 5.4/10
Unlike some horror movies, ‘Spell’ gives us a sense of satisfaction at the end while creating events that spurned suspense throughout the movie. It revolves around a man who had to travel back to his hometown with his family to inherit his father’s estate who just died. They crashed in the middle of an underdeveloped creepy area and they are held captive by a fetish woman and her folks. The funny thing is, we are not too afraid of the woman and her folks, we are just wondering how the man would free himself and his family from her ritualist grip.

6 The princess switch switched again.
Genre: Comedy, Action
IMDB: 5.3/10
I think we can all agree that its prequel ‘The princess switch’ is better, but this is not bad. In fact, it is not bad at all. In a bid to prepare herself for the throne and try to work out her relationship with her erstwhile lover, the princess must switch again with her lookalike. It just gets more interesting when the plot complicates and the princess is impersonated three times and they have to work through who the real princess is.

7. Spontaneous
Genre: Horror, Romance.
IMDB: 6.5/10
‘Spontaneous’ is a different kind of horror movie and it begins in such a way that doesn’t hint us of what is to come. Someone suddenly explodes in the middle of a classroom and the government tries very hard to look for the cause and the cure. We begin to pay attention and are holding unto our breath as to what would happen next or who would explode next. I really commend Katherine Langford in role delivery as the lead character and I love the turn the movie took in the last five to ten minutes. ‘Spontaneous’ is a significant representation of how things happen spontaneously in life and we just cannot control it. Therefore, we should be prepared for it and try to achieve things in the middle of it all.

8. Bad boys for life.
Genre: Action
IMDB: 6.6/10
Will smith and Martin Lawrence have always been a good combo and we love the fact that ‘Bad boys for life’ doesn’t present them as being agile or skillful as they used to be. In fact, Martin got his ass handed to him several times in the movie and even though the story line is not entirely unique, the suspense and thrill cannot be denied.

9. Birdy of prey and the fantabulous emancipation of one Harley Quinn.
Genre: Comedy, Action.
IMDB: 6.1/10
‘Birds of prey’ is literally our favorite on this list. It combines dark comedy and action in such a way that intrigues us and makes it feel like the whole idea is new. The storyline doesn’t present a hero-villain situation, it presents a villain-villain situation and creates a ‘may the best villain win’ scenario. With Harley Quinn being kicked away by the joker, she must unleash her girl power with her new found allies and free herself from the rage of those who want a pound of her flesh.

10. Coffee and Kareem
Genre: Comedy, action.
IMDB: 5.1/10
Even though this story revolves around a precocious ‘Kareem’, it finds a way to center around other characters who contribute to making the movie an awesome experience. Kareem doesn’t like that his mother (played by Taraji P Henson) is dating a white cop, and he tries to set him up only for him to be entangled in a dangerous situation involving drug sellers. During the process, he bonds with him and they must find the best possible way to save themselves from their terrible situations while dealing with a female corrupt cop with a shiny badge.

11 Dolittle
Genre: Adventure, comedy
IMDB: 5.6/10
‘Dolittle’ is a remake of the Dolittle series and it creates a very scintillating experience laced with comedy on Dr. Dolittle’s adventure with his animal friends.

12 My spy
Genre: Comedy, action
IMDB: 6.3/10
I think the special thing about this movie is how a little kid discovers FBI agents spying on her mum. It brought a plot twist we didn’t see coming. The agents have to disclose their mission while the little girl tries to make the male detective date her widowed mother. The detective must work with the little girl to protect her mother from evil men going after her while she ‘trains’ to be a FBI agent in the future.

Read also- Top 10 2020 Nigerian Albums

13 Mulan
Genre: Action, adventure.
IMDB: 5.6/10
‘Mulan’ presents a world challenge in unique way by using a common story line. The movie significantly underscored gender inequality and how women should try and prove the society wrong by doing exactly what they thought they shouldn’t do. Mulan runs away from home to fight for her country under the disguise of a male and she is far better than every one of the fighters. The fact that she is later discovered sets another mood for the movie and points out that skills or achievement are not owned by a particular gender.

14 Project Power
Genre: Action, superhero
IMDB: 6/10
The superpowers displayed in this movie is quite different and the storyline is slightly unique too. It involves taking a pill to get superpowers which would last for some minutes. However, it had some side effects and people used it to commit crimes nonetheless. The main character (played by Jamie Foxx) must look for his daughter who was kidnapped because she had real superpowers which could be used as experiment for the pill superpowers.

15 Citation
Genre: Drama
IMDB: 5.9/10
‘Citation’ revolves around the story of a young girl in the University pursuing her Master’s degree. She is seduced by her lecturer who tries to rape her and then deny it when confronted by the University panel. The lecturer is portrayed as the lot of sex predators on the loose in the society. ‘Citation’ focuses on such related issues in our societies. The beauty of the film is accentuated by the several visits to nostalgic places in African countries.

16 Life in a year

Genre: Family, inspirational, Teen movie, Drama

IMDB: 5.9/10

Life in a year is an awesome movie! It is based on how parents set so much expectations for their children that the children can’t even find or discover themselves or what they are really good at. It also points out that most times, society sets the bar so high for youths and teenagers that it becomes hard for them to focus on the things that matter- their life as it is and not how it is supposed to be. Jaden Smith also brings the movie to life and makes it very interesting. He has not lost his touch as an actor and in fact, has gotten better.

17 Blindfire
Genre: Drama, thriller.
IMDB: 3.9/10
This movie may have a low rating, but it made our list because of the salient message it passes. It exemplifies how black people are judged because of their appearances and the stereotype registered with them. A white cop gets a distress call from a man who is about to kill his wife. However, it was a prank call from a kid. He gets to the address given him and when the ‘man’ steps out. He is black. He sees a bottle in his hand and assumes the bottle was a weapon. He then fired his gun and killed the black man even though he wasn’t armed. The movie lends a voice to the black lives matter movement.

18 A fall from Grace
GENRE: Thriller, drama.
IMDB: 5.9/10
By now, we are extremely familiar with most Tyler Perry narratives. However, he has a way of making each story slightly differ from the other. In ‘Acrimony’, it was about an injustice done to a woman. In ‘A fall from Grace’ too, it was about an injustice done to a woman but under different circumstances. ‘A fall from Grace’ instills a chilling suspense that drives our addiction to the movie even though it is on a popular theme. Grace’s female friend sets her own son to sway Grace into falling in love with him. They then proceed to get all her account codes and render her bankrupt. She gets furious and almost kills her friend’s son. The next couple of scenes sees Grace going through a court trial while the remaining part of the movie focuses on how she is absolved of her crime.

19 Friend request
Genre: Drama, thriller.
IMDB: 5/10
‘Friend request’ fills us with an irresistible urge to think as it presents a relatable situation. Malik has a perfect family but all things come tumbling down in his world when his ex-girlfriend shows up in their college re-union and cons him. The beautiful thing about this movie is how it takes an unpredictable twist that makes us commend the writing and plot creation. It is not a movie to pass up at all.

20 Dangerous lies
Genre: Action, drama.
IMDB: 5.2/10
‘Dangerous lies’ is a thrill to watch. I love how it doesn’t present predictable situations that allow us to guess the conclusion of the movie. It centers on a couple who have financial problems and find menial jobs in looking after an old man’s estate. The old man dies and surprisingly, he leaves all the wealth to them. Meanwhile, there’s another secret wealth inside the house that draws a lot of strife from external forces.

Which one of these movies have you seen and which is your favorite? Tell us in the comment section!

Posted by Olayiide Bolaji in Entertainment, Movies, 3 comments