“West Side Story” Blends a Timeless Story with Modern Filmmaking
By Janie Walenda
At first, remaking “West Side Story” sounds like a bad idea. First of all, the original movie stands as one of the best movie musicals of all time, despite its outdated practices of dubbing and casting. Secondly, movie musicals are a dying genre. While it still survives due to Disney and animation, movie musicals are no longer the spectacular blockbusters they used to be. With a disappointing opening weekend, Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” will not disprove ...
‘Hawkeye’ Episode Five Ups The Stakes Before The Finale
By Janie Walenda
“Hawkeye” has surprised me in a lot of ways: The excellent action scenes, how they captured the atmosphere of the comics while drastically changing the characters and how they’ve weaved together multiple storylines and complex characters makes this one of the best Disney shows so far. Episode 5, “Ronin” not only expands on these elements but also introduces a new surprise. “Hawkeye,” so far, has gone farther than any other MCU show in executing satisfying ...
Full of Christmas Cheer, ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 4 Refines Both Heroes and Villains
By Janie Walenda
Part of Hawkeye’s appeal has always been Clint and Kate’s human-ness. Despite being highly skilled heros, they are prone to get injured after fights and live in regular apartments. The duality of “Hawkeye,” at least so far, has been displaying this normalcy while still elevating the character, proving why Hawkeye deserves to be an Avenger. While this week’s episode, “Partners, Am I Right,” is a little slower than previous episodes, it has a purpose. It solidifies ...
’Hawkeye’ Episode 3 Is Heavy on the Action But Light on the Plot
By Janie Walenda
It’s hard to believe that “Hawkeye” has already hit its halfway point. After all, this is only the second week of the show. While episode three, “Echoes,” was lighter on plot development, it did bring some amazing action and character development.
The best part of the episode was by far its extended action scene. This scene perfectly showcases why Clint is an Avenger. Not only is he a skilled archer, but a creative and level-headed combatant. I was initially ...
‘House of Gucci’ is A Star-Studded Piece of Mediocrity
By Sam Acosta
When I first saw the trailer for “House of Gucci,” I knew I had to see it. Not only does it have many big names attached, but the “rise-of-an-empire” type of film is one I enjoy immensely. Yet as I sat through the film's two-and-a-half-hour runtime, I felt myself becoming more and more disappointed. While there are great performances and much potential, poor pacing and a mediocre script cause the film to trip over itself.
The one thing that this film gets right is ...
‘Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City’ is a Bad Movie that Could Have Been So Much Better
By Ben Konuch
It really shouldn’t be that difficult to make a “Resident Evil” movie. The concept of the iconic 1996 survival horror game is incredibly simple - a character is stuck alone in a spooky mansion, hunted by all kinds of hideous creatures, running out of supplies and, in the process, uncovering a dark and twisted conspiracy. That’s all you have to do. You would think, with such a straightforward premise and the pool of talented filmmakers in Hollywood, that a “Resident ...
‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ Fetches Loads of Fun
By Noah Tang
As a child, I occasionally watched “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and “Clifford’s Puppy Days.” Although I do not remember them very well, those shows left enough of an impression for me to understand the significance of this new movie. To my knowledge, this is the first time that Clifford has been translated into live-action.
The movie starts with Clifford’s birth family squatting in an abandoned factory and then being taken by animal control. However, the workers fail to ...
‘King Richard’ Tells an Inspirational Tale
By Noah Tang
The story of “King Richard” Williams has finally been told on the big screen, and it does not disappoint. Will Smith stars as Richard, the man who raised the two tennis stars that are the Williams sisters. Of course, he was much more than just that. Although Venus and Serena might be the most well-known sisters from that family, their three other siblings have accomplished much as well. Each of them can credit their father for providing them with a strong foundation for ...
‘Cowboy Bebop’ is a Flawed yet Entertaining Remix for the Returning Fan (Spoiler Review)
By Ben Konuch
“See you later, space cowboy…”
As an adaptation of the anime series of the same name, Netflix’s “Cowboy Bebop'' puzzles me. It gets a lot right, such as the phenomenal casting of John Cho as Spike, Daniella Pineda as Faye and especially Mustafa Shakir as Jet. Yet, it also manages to get some of the fundamentals of the story very wrong.
Starting with the positives, of which there are many, most of the subtle tweaks they make to Spike’s and Jet's backstories ...
‘Cowboy Bebop’ is an Exciting Experience for the Newcomer (Spoiler-Free Review)
By Ben Konuch
“Death follows you wherever you go. It’s in your bones, Spike...”
Netflix’s “Cowboy Bebop” really confused me. It’s the most recent in a long string of live-action anime remakes, following such failed attempts as “Dragonball: Evolution” and “Death Note.” Needless to say, studios have had a difficult time trying to adapt anime into live-action, especially with fans being very picky (and vocal) when they feel their favorite shows are being butchered in ...
