Sarah Mrad

The actors are wonderful to watch, and the soundtrack is pretty decent along with the fighting sequences, but other than that, I think the writers went to sleep sometime while writing it. The Old Guard has so much potential to be a good franchise, one of the best given the current lacklusters recently, but it falls spectacularly short with its pacing, incoherence, and overall lack of intrigue. If Andy and Co. are thousands of years old and are supposed to be seasoned warriors and a bunch of know-it-all, why are they still falling for the same parlor tricks each time? First Copley in the first one, and now Discord in the second? And what the heck is that name, Discord, for someone who is supposedly an eternal being? And the cringy dialogues? How many points do you get by mentioning that Nile is a millenial? The writers need to be smarter, more diligent, and actually have a purpose to writing the films beside the obvious queer romance plotline between Andy and Quỳnh and the badass fighting sequences. If there is to be a third installement, I beg the scriptwriters to seriously consider the "why are we writing this?" question.

Watching the film in 2025 and comparing it to what's going on IRL, it is a statement being made. I absolutely love the film series as it depicts people as they truly are: selfish at times, giving in to their most primal instincts in dire times, but most importantly, brutal when it comes to getting what they want. The film is not perfect, let's be real. There are shortcomings when it comes to Snow's evolution into the dictator that we know later on in the series, but the story captures the spiral of a man from a somewhat ambitious reluctant empath to a desperate soldier striving for greatness - regardless of the price paid. One cannot watch the film through rose-colored glasses. It is not a film that can be ignored, and its idea, that of a speculative fiction, is unfortunately not that anymore.

I am (un)fortunate enough to have to teach this book at school, half a world away from the United States, yet the story of Khalil, like so many other African-Americans and minority groups, resonates, I believe, with many people all over. The film came out at a pivotal moment in the US with BLM, but one has to wonder, given the extensive racist history of the country, whether the story itself hit a nerve somewhere in their messed up systematic racist ideology. Starr said it best: this isn't just about African-American people, it's about everyone who suffers because of this inbuilt racist mindset. Angie Thomas speaks from experience, and this film portrays what we - halfway across the world - have seen unfold on social media. The truth is laid out for everyone to see; there's no hiding it anymore. And if you cannot already tell from my plea, the film was stellar, and a must watch for everyone hoping to understand just a little of what others go through in a white world.

I'm about two years too late to watch this film, but I am glad I did. Everything about it (considering that Marvel has been screwing up here and there) was well-made, most notably the actors' performances that exceed all expectations. Laeitia Wright's gut-wrenching grief made it so that it was her, and not just Shuri, that was grieving for Chadwick and T'challa respectively, and Angela Bassett shines. However, the other actors were equally brilliant. Wakanda Forever easily stands as one of the best Marvel films made. The only thing that does not give it a five-star rating is the somewhat rushed plot of Namor giving up at the end. There was this whole build up that somehow fell short towards the climax of the movie, and there was, undoubtedly, something that felt missing. Overall though, a brilliant watch.

A new and refreshing show. I enjoyed every second of it, and seeing Louisa play Nell was a welcome change from her character Orla in Derry Girls (although I loved her in it, too). The performances were all exceptional, from veteran actors to new ones, and the story was brilliantly written, leaving lots of space for more of the same and better. Definitely recommed to watch!

Easily one of the best games I have ever played. The gameplay is stupidly good, and the plot itself is so bittersweet. It is impossible not to fall in love with Eivor, to feel with the character and be drawn in to Norse mythology and England in the 800s. It brings together the best of what AC has to offer, and a beautiful conclusion to Layla's arc as she seeks redemption. Valhalla does not fail to give us easter eggs of past AC games, *spoilers ahead*, especially with the Reader. Any old AC fan would recognize the actor behind the voice, and will connect the dots and figure out who the Reader is. Eivor, like Kassandra, like Bayek, is a complex character, and this is perhaps why, at the end of the game, there is a mixture of catharsis but a longing for more.

I love everything about it. The casting is simply wonderful, and the visuals equally stunning. It's like the books opened up and spat the whole thing on screen. My only "negative" comment is that the episodes are slow, and the parts where the action sequences must feel action-y aren't. Take for instance episode 3 with Medusa. It was too quick and too uneventful for such a formidable foe. The same with the bus scene earlier. I do believe it is the choice in writing that affected this, as even the dialogue can be off-putting at times. I hope this changes in the coming episodes.

Halle is brilliant, and her presence is extraordinary, but not phenomenal. That said, she is a powerhouse, and with the proper script, she is going to shine even more brightly. It's not perfection, and there is little new to the story unlike Aladdin for instance, but the performances, the development, the photography, and especially the music are particularly captivating and make for a fun, lightweight, and still true to the original animation film. The script could have certainly used a bit more tweaking here and there, and I would have loved to see more of Ursula and her counterpart Vanessa, seeing as they were extremely threatening in the original one. Still, McCarthy does not disappoint. Another character that should have seen more development would have been Triton, though I do understand why they wouldn't have elaborated more on him. After all, the film is titled "The Little Mermaid", not "The Tale of Triton".

A boring film with a tired plot and nothing new. I wasted 3 hours of my life and money that I could have spent on more meaningful stuff for this. I had no expectations going in, and I kept hoping that the film would get better, that something would change. Nothing did. I was bored out of my mind about 20 minutes in. The visuals somewhat make up for the lack of anything interesting in the film, but even they can't salvage it. I will never understand why people flocked to watch it.