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For a long time now, Netflix has been trying to find what would become its big blockbuster franchise. Over the last few years, we have seen them going out by releasing big-budget action movies like Bright, Triple Frontier, 6 Underground and Extraction just to name a few. While some of then are or will get sequels, none seem to be poised to become Netflix’s franchise that you know they want. After all, summer blockbuster movies are still one of the most lucrative things for Hollywood and when a franchise work, it can prove to go on for a very long time. But when you look at things for Netflix, even with a few viral movies like Birdbox, they just don’t seem to catch the break that they want. Netflix’s most talked-about originals are more often than not their shows or romantic comedies. But with the arrival of The Old Guard, the streaming service might have just found what will be their next big thing. Not only because it is perfect to become a franchise but also because the film also happens to be really good.
You know that feeling when you watch a show and you just can’t stop watching. Going into something completely blind, with no idea of what this is going to happen, that surprise feeling as the episodes pass and things get crazier and crazier. Sometimes it’s a nice surprise, others it isn’t. Going blind into Warrior Nun was the best thing I did. The only thing I knew about this show was because of the trailer that Netflix released. It was a nice surprise, a surprise that after I finished I wished I had taken more of my time watching because while the show is far from perfect, Warrior Nun reminds me a lot of another great little supernatural show that deserves a lot more attention, Wynonna Earp.
I’ve mentioned it before, but Cineplex is where I think I became who I am. It’s been my longest ongoing (and off) job. It’s where I’ve met most of my closest friends. And for the ones who didn’t work there, I met because of people who had. I have love for the company. For a while, Cineplex had been silent after George Floyd’s murder but a team helped curate films to elevate Black stories, artists and filmmakers. And right now, you can go and rent them for free on the Cineplex store app. Cineplex showed up to the conversation and are doing their part to make a statement in the conversation.
Here is the link for you to rent and watch the films. Don’t know where to start? We have some suggestions.
Here’s the thing, I am a sucker for musicals. Musicals always have this way of making you feel like no other movies can. It’s something that I always loved and from the very first trailer for The High Note, I was excited. I couldn’t wait to see it and the soundtrack was already something that I loved from the trailer. Because a musical is nothing without the music, it can have the greatest story of all time but if the music doesn’t work, well the film won’t work either.
Comedies are a work of art. The balance of comedy and story can be the one thing that brings the film down. Too often, the best jokes are put in the trailers and when you start the film everything else falls flat. The Lovebirds is not that. Not only is it funny from beginning to end and the jokes hit perfectly and the chemistry between Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) and Issa Rae (Insecure) elevates the end product. The movie might not change the game in terms of comedies but it works so well that you end up getting something really good and entertaining.
A secret love deserves to not be kept a secret anymore. It’s cheesy to say but the story of Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel should have been said much sooner. Terry Donahue is already a legend on her own, being one of the inspirations behind the great movie A League of their Own. She might have been one of the few women that played professional baseball when that was still not the norm for women but maybe what is the most impressive, and sad, is how who she is was never known, not only to the public but to her family until just a few years ago. Their story deserves to be told and A Secret Love tries to do them justice but the short run time and the overstuffing of the documentary impairs it from going in deeper in their story and a lot gets lost in the process.
From American Horror Story to last year’s The Politician, Ryan Murphy has continuously given us some of the decades best and most unique TV. Now this year we’ve been gifted with his and Ian Brennan’s (Scream Queens, Glee) newest series, Hollywood. With a stacked cast of newcomers and veterans, gorgeous visuals and a score that feels timeless; Hollywood is a welcomed addition into Ryan Murphy’s world-building. But not one without flaws.
In 2004, a film called Saving Face written and directed by Alice Wu came out. Telling the story of an Asian-American doctor who must learn to balance her life with her unwed pregnant mother and her dancer girlfriend. I was too young at the time to see it but once I discovered it as a teenager in the closet, I fell in love with it. I fell in love with Wu’s writing and directing. So waiting for her second film felt like ever, it felt like it would never come and then, Netflix announced that they would produce a film written and directed by Wu. To say that I have been anticipating The Half of It is an understatement. Alice Wu won my heart with her directorial debut, a film that had been able to win my heart and made me feel accepter. With The Half of It, she was capable of recreating those feelings that I had felt as a closeted teenager but she did it in a very unexpected way.
The year might have ended but the list are still coming. Here is my top 12 television series of 2019.
The UnderSCENE 