Doris L – Google

A very lacklustre film that does not live up to the hype of what it was advertised and promoted to be. IMO not Gerwigs greatest pieces of writing, wish it would have been better and not so trite given I know that she can write such intimate and beautiful pieces. Barbie tries to be too many things at once and fails to be any of them. There were some very good pros but some awful cons as well. Pros: - Set was beautiful - Costuming and production was very on point, really felt like out of a toy store - Margot Robbies and Ryan Goslings acting itself was actually pretty good, got to the point. - Characters embraced the whole barbie actions and personifying how little girls should play with them. Cons: - America Ferreras monologue was so trite, unoriginal, uninspiring and sadly disappointing. I found myself eyerolling through it. The thematic material has been done to death and it could have been so much more fulfiling. Literally a 14 year old in drama class could have done your lines just as good. - Too many small plotlines that didnt wrap up - Mattel as a character failed as it clearly didnt reach its personal/collective objective. They tried introducing the girl and the doll relationship theme but just dumped it halfway through. - Barbie comes across like it doesnt take itself too seriously, but I feel like secretly they do. Make up your mind. But maybe thats the whole point of barbie as a toy itself. - Really tried to explore the theme through how a little girl would play with her dolls - imagine barbie as a movie that a child made up. But its obvious that its not a childs movie. Adults dont know how to play with barbies Might I also add that Barbie marketing capitalises on ultra-hyper-facist capitialist and consumerism ideas that the film seemingly wants to riot against

Dear Steven, As a giant fan of all things WSS (the 1961 film, the musical, the score, the choreography, the adaptation, the storyline, the BTS) thank you for making a film just for me. A film that marries musical theatre and cinema A film that isnt afraid to flesh out the ugliness and vulnerabilities of these characters and tying them into a modern context A film where nostalgia clashes with a breath of fresh air A film that honours the score, the lyrics, the dance A film that features the most electrifyingly, glorious cast ever to be assembled A film that I placed the highest, heaviest expectations on you and yet you managed to make me cry multiple times throughout Te Adoro, D.L.

*SPOILER ALERT* - for people who havent seen the film and want to go in cold. Now this is how you do a spiderman trilogy! This film + Homecoming and FFH is so beautifully written and intertwined, our spiderman has grown up in ways we could never have imagined - I am happy that the producers, Jon Watts and Tom Holland have done Peter Parker the justice that he deserves. Now onto the film, I am honestly amazed at the writing, the plot and the way this film was shot. Some of the scenes where Peter is watching the big screens feels straight out of the comic books. I love the merging and amalgamation of not just the themes (coming of age) from the movie alone but all of the spidey themes from the previous versions of spiderman coming together. One of my fav pieces of writing from Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers would have to be the integration of the standout spiderman quote that holds so much meaning to Peter himself and the fans (you guys know what I mean). However the theme that takes the cake and was hinted/foreshadowed with the other spideys is that having this great responsibility will always come with tremendous loss and sacrifice and it couldnt have been said better (and quite tragically) with the ending, you can fight literal demons, however some will just plague you for the rest of your life.

If you are a sucker for character development, you will love this movie! Brando and Pacino steal the show as the Patriarch and succeeding son respectively. Michael's arc will intrigue you in a way that leaves you wanting more from him (in the sequel). I love what Brando does with Vito making the Patriarch a fearful but also a humble and respectful mafia boss. Fantastic writing by Puzo and Coppola and beautiful scoring by Nino Rota!