Movie Review: Captive State (2019)

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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Summary: Set in a Chicago neighborhood nearly a decade after an occupation by an extraterrestrial force, ‘Captive State’ explores the lives on both sides of the conflict – the collaborators and dissidents.
Pros:
The Cast. I don’t want to quite say the characters were interesting because I didn’t really find anyone interesting but I thought the acting was good. John Goodman plays William Mulligan, a police commander who is going after this resistance group he doesn’t think is gone and he seems to have a singular focus and is doing everything he can do to accomplish his goals. I wasn’t quite sure his endgame until about halfway through but John Goodman is a great actor and it was really hard to get a read on him. I knew something was up but I wasn’t quite sure what it was. Ashton Sanders plays Gabriel Drummond, is the younger son of the family we saw in the beginning and his role is interesting because it seems like he has an important part to play and I’ll get more into this later but I wanted to watch this for him because I thought he was fantastic in Moonlightand his section was my favorite part of the movie. He has this great ability to pull attention when he’s on screen and I wanted way more of him. Jonathan Majors plays Rafe Drummond, Gabe’s older brother and I won’t get more into his role but he was rather dynamic as well. Once he was introduced, I was like “oh yeah, this is some good stuff”. There are a lot of people we come into contact with as well and honestly, this movie might have worked better as a miniseries or a television show because I wanted to care more about these people because they had potential to be interesting.
The aliens. We don’t get to see a ton of them in the film but when we do, they’re really have interesting designs. They look like tall men with spider legs and then like tons of nails all over their body that can move into different forms. It’s quite cool actually. Like I said, you don’t see them a ton in the film but when you do it’s like “eww gross” or “oooo cool!” for me, it was both reactions lol.
Human Drama. This movie really goes into what humans would do after the bad guys win and how it’s handled. I think it was smart to not dive into the whole invasion aspect or to have it be mass chaos because OMG aliens. But to have humans collectively rise up and fight back, rise up and do it in sneaky ways, that’s pretty cool. Humans show how smart they are here and while it’s reckless, you understand it because their world changed and ya know, humans are fickle.
Suspense and Tension. Even if you don’t think the story is that great, the suspense and tension is handled really well in this movie. I was really on the edge of my seat at times. Like the entire Soldier’s Field scene, man that was good, and then the sequence after that with the buses. Even the very end was pretty great. The story is a bit off kilter but man it would keep you into it because you just want to know how it’s all going to turn out.
Cons:
Slow Burn/Feels Jumbled. Generally, I like slow burn stories because it allows the viewer or the reader to really get invested in the characters and the story, and while I was curious as to what was going on, I just wanted all the twists and turns to end. I found myself getting…bored with whatever was actually happening because it didn’t feel like anything was truly happening. There’s so much yet so little happening in this film that it just feels like a jumbled mess.
The Story. Listen, I see what they’re trying to do. I even understand that once a character meets another character, we then follow that character for a little while and so on and so forth, and that’s fine but it’s a little hard to really get invested in this story. I guess I also just keep coming back to characters because the movie is very character driven more than it is story driven.
Character Potential. As I said before, I watched this movie because of Ashton Sanders and I thought he was going to be a leading character. I had no idea what the movie was about but I thought he was going to be the character we followed. But it’s more of an ensemble cast but most characters we don’t really get to know so when things happen, it’s impossible to care about them. I really think this might have done better as a television show. It could work since it’s not so focused on the alien aspect but on the human aspect, and it doesn’t feel too Battlestar Galactica, it feels more relatable and I think it would have worked. When the ending comes about it’s just like “DANG!” because it happens but not because I care about the characters it’s happening to. Ya know?
Dark/Murky Visually. This is a bit tooo dark in terms of the visuals. It’s hard to see what is going on at times. Whenever the aliens are on screen, it’s hard to see them. I’m sure part of it is to keep their look to a minimum which is cool and all but I think it would have been nice to see them just a few times more, or at least clearly. Also, whenever their space ships showed up, or any flying thing it was hard to tell what it looked like. They looked like giant flying rocks and I’m like meh, it’s hard to see and when I can see, it’s underwhelming.
Overall, Captive Stateis an interesting movie. I’m having a hard time deciding if I would recommend it. If you like science-fiction movies that may fall into the same vein as I, Robot, or I Am Legendand things like that then you might enjoy this, but it’s hard to really say otherwise. I think the acting is good, I really watched this for Ashton Sanders and I think he’s great, his character also had great potential to be way more interesting than what he is. John Goodman is also good as is Jonathan Majors. I think the aliens are pretty interesting and in how they’re designed when we’re able to see them and their looming threat is also interesting. I like the human drama in that when the characters interact there is a lot of history there, or a lot of interesting dialogue and of course it handles the tension quite well! I find myself interested. However, the movie is a bit of a jumbled mess when it comes to the story, the character potential is just a shame because it’s there but isn’t followed through. The movie is also visually too dark at times. But ya know, it had great potential and I REALLY think it should have been a mini-series. *sighs* A lot of movies I have found lately, should be shows instead of films. Let’s change our tactics people, viewers want to watch things in the comfort of their homes and if they can binge it, even better.
Rating: 2.9 out of 5 stars. 
Have you seen Captive State? Was it even on your radar? If you’ve seen it, what are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!
Thanks for reading!
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My Thoughts: Aladdin (2019) Sequel

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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So, anyone who has talked to me in the last two months or so knows I have been obsessed with this movie since I saw it when it came out. I’ve seen it five times. The last time being on Father’s Day with my parents and youngest sisters. I know there has been negative commentary about it and that’s fine, I don’t care, I think it’s crazy, but I LOVE THIS MOVIE.

There are mild spoilers ahead so if you haven’t seen the movie yet then I would exercise caution in reading this piece. You can read my Movie Review: Aladdin.

Anyway, the film ends with a great open ending in terms of the story. Yes, Aladdin and Jasmine marry, and Genie and Dalia go off and have kids which is beautiful.

Side Note: I have to say, I thought the romance between Genie and Dalia was cute, innocent and pure. I’ve seen people (mostly on Tumblr) say that it’s a “forced relationship” among other words and I completely disagree. I thought Genie and Dalia were sweet and awkward and Will Smith and Nasim Pedrad had nice chemistry. I mean, why shouldn’t Jasmine’s best friend and Aladdin’s best friend have some interest in each other? Neither one of them gets out that much and plus, the way that Aladdin and Jasmine supports the romance between Dalia and Genie is super cute. Aladdin

Idea 1: Return of Jafar

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Return of Jafar, it’s the lesser of the two sequels I think, but it would make for a great live action sequel. At the end of this Aladdin (and in the animation) they get Jafar to turn himself into a Genie and he gets trapped in a lamp. Our Genie tosses him back into the Cave of Wonders. Now here is where things would pick up. It’s been a year since they defeated him. Aladdin and Jasmine are married, she is Sultana and doing a bang-up job at it and Aladdin is at her side as King, or Sultan or whatever his title would be. But I would imagine he’s a little restless considering his life of movement before.

But, I don’t necessarily want to follow the exact plot of the animated film. But somehow Jafar needs to be freed from the lamp. In the animated film, a different kind of thief comes across the lamp after Iago somehow manages to get himself and the lamp out of the cave and leaves the lamp in a well after being sick of Jafar’s bossiness. Now, I’ve never really liked Iago like that so he doesn’t have to have such a large role that he has in the animated sequel, but unless the Cave of Wonders resets itself every time someone failed to get inside or someone failed to get the lamp, or even that the Cave’s purpose is over since the lamp was already taken then it could just be a pile of rubble and our Genie’s magic never actually made it through whatever rubble the cave is in now, which would allow for some thief to get it, it was Abis Mal in the animated, we can keep him I guess but make him more competent. That was a run-on sentence, I know. OR, since it’s Jafar’s lamp now and he’s a terrible person, perhaps the Cave’s magic doesn’t work the same since this Genie is a massive jerk?

But regardless, I want to see Jafar get his revenge and I want to see him win for longer than a few hours. He threatened Aladdin before he got sucked into the lamp, so I would imagine he would be pissed and go after the princess who thwarted and defied him and the street thief who made him look like a fool. BRING IT ON. I might just write this sequel lol.

Idea 2: King of Thieves

So, obviously we need to explore Aladdin’s history, his parents and all that. In the movie he says he lost both of his parents when he was young, but I don’t think he ever said how. Perhaps his mother died but he’s not sure what happened to his father, so he just assumes he’s dead… WHICH HE ISN’T!! He’s the King of Thieves… Cassim, hot dad lol. Choose a brown actor and make sure he at least resembles Mena Massoud because I’ll forever be mad at Stellan Skarsgard’s casting as Orlando Bloom’s father in the POTC movies. They kept saying Will was Bill’s spitting image and they looked NOTHING ALIKE. Anyway, I would love to explore how Aladdin and his father are so similar and any other shenanigans. They don’t have to be looking for the Hand of Midas or pull exactly from the animated film, but I think it would be great to see Aladdin have a whole person enter his life who is into some dark and bad stuff. It would be a different kind of personal story since it’s his father and he never really knew what happened to the man. Oh, that would be so great!

Idea 3: Another Country

Let’s see some other countries in this world. We can go to Shirabad sure, but I’m thinking more along the line of, Jasmine and Aladdin visit another country on the Silk Road for something and perhaps the royal family, a rival young King maybe, is a super jerk? Or perhaps another kingdom wants to invade Agrabah and/or conquer all the desert kingdoms… let’s go to war! This is the lesser of my ideas.

Idea 4: Married Life

I wouldn’t mind having a romcom like film with Aladdin and Jasmine getting used to married life and all the shenanigans that happens with that, like what is Aladdin’s actual title now? I really like the idea of him having a difficult time being in a ruler, especially since he’s made a name for himself as a thief. I would assume the guards who were on Jafar’s side were punished so none of them would be a problem exactly, but maybe some people in the kingdom? I don’t know but I would be interested in seeing how they handle being married. It seemed like Genie and Dalia were returning to Agrabah at the beginning of the film, so are they there to stay? They already have kids and stuff, so Aladdin and Jasmine must have been married for a while or there is some pocket of magic that allowed time to move differently for Dalia and the Genie?? Let me just also say, I think Will Smith’s Genie should also retain some of his magic. Maybe not like phenomenal cosmic powers but some of it should be left if he’s had magic for 10,000 years. It can’t just be gone. Anyway, let’s get it.

Idea 5: Mozenrath

Do y’all remember him from the animated show?

Mozenrath He’s a dark sorcerer, similar in ways to Jafar and I would quite enjoy seeing him on the big screen. So, I know he’s really pale because of where he lives, but just hire a light skinned POC as it’s not an excuse to cast a non POC actor. Anyways, he and Aladdin often butted heads and I remember reading that they wanted to introduce him as Aladdin’s older brother he didn’t know about in the third movie, but they decided to explore Aladdin’s dad instead. Now, I’m not against the idea of him being Aladdin’s older brother, perhaps from another woman, but we’ve seen that many times, so I would rather that not be the case. I’m even hesitant on him being a friend Aladdin knew from the city. Sooo, perhaps he was “friends” with Jafar, perhaps he knew Jafar from Shirabad since Jafar is clearly from Shirabad and not Agrabah.

There are a few episodes in the show that have good plots they could adapt. “Two to Tangle” is about Mozenrath dying because of his dark magic gauntlet or whatever, so he wants to transfer his body into a younger, stronger, healthier one and he chooses Aladdin. That could be interesting. There are a few others but this one is a little less cheesy lol.

This is My Thoughts on an Aladdin sequel with my Top Five ideas. I really think this movie deserves one, way more than Maleficent does, don’t even get me started on that, and there is a ton of material to pull from with the animated show, or even creating a new and interesting story. Plus, I want to visit this world again with Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott leading the charge. Shoot give me a television show on Disney Plus! Something!

Thanks for reading! And thanks to everyone who has liked and followed this blog! I am so grateful for my readers! Also, to everyone who has followed me, thank you so much!

Please feel free to comment, I love feedback. Let me know what you think of these ideas AND what would you like to see in a sequel. Tell me something good!

Movie Review: Mortal Engines (2018)

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world where cities ride on wheels and consume each other to survive, two people meet in London and try to stop a conspiracy.
This will be a short review.
Pros:
SOME of the acting/characters. Robert Sheehan plays Tom Natsworthy and I knew he was going to be good at least because I like him and I think he’s a good, engaging and charming actor. For some reason, I thought he was going to be the villain, maybe I saw the wrong trailer, lol I don’t know, but I liked Tom’s character. He lives on London and he’s a historian so he knows a lot information about the past, which works out in ways so when the movie needs to share a ton of information, Tom is the one sharing it. But he’s a little awkward but he’s a good guy and I generally like characters like him. I think the movie should have followed him because he was way more interesting. Hera Hilmar plays Hesterand I liked her and found her interesting sometimes. Hugo Weaving as Valentineand he’s always good, very good at being the villain lol but he just had lots of talking to do.
Great Chase Scenes.The movie has some really nice chase scenes, in terms of high tension. The first scene is really good and I was into it. Whenever Shrike showed up, I was like “dang, this is the terminator!” and he really was, he didn’t do a bunch of fighting but he had his mission and he was going to follow through. He caused tons of destruction and it was awesome. The action sequence in the Aerial town was pretty cool and the fighter planes sequence towards the end was also pretty good too. I can’t say all the physical fight scenes were that great but the other stuff was fun to watch.
Production Design. Now you know with Peter Jackson involved it’s bound to be grand and magnificent and he bought the rights to the book in 2009. It’s been in the works for quite some time not official until 2016. I think this film has a ton of great images in it. The cities alone are quite a sight to behold. For example, when London is first sighted by the little town, they break apart into the separate… cars? and they quickly move the shops and what not back onto their respective rollers (hah!) and it’s just so cool to see that. Not to mention, how great London itself looks AND when we see the air city, just wow. If anything, this movie looks great and one of the best things about it is look and all of the… stuff lol.
The Opening Chase Scene. I had to rewatch this film because I wasn’t paying that much attention in the beginning as I was cooking but that opening scene which I missed most of the first time, is pretty awesome! Probably one of the best parts of the movie. I just wish the movie kept that kind of tension and adrenaline throughout the rest. The fear of the people on the smaller rollers, Hester clearly wanting them to be caught and the people on London cheering and booing depending on the small outcomes of catching up or falling behind. I bet it was really cool to see on the big screen.
Cons:
Bland Characters. This book isn’t that big and I do plan on reading it at some point, but I wonder just how much we get to know some of these characters in the first book because you really learn nothing about how most of these people are as people. Sure, we learn about Hester’s past and a bit about Tom but we don’t really get to know these people to care about them. I would say Tom gets the most indication of who he is but that seems like it’s because he wears his personality and heart on his sleeve. Hester is a bit harder to pin down but she’s just not interesting this way. That may be on purpose but it didn’t work for me and it didn’t make me interested in her storyline.
Fluffed Story. By this I mean that it doesn’t seem like a ton is going on. It’s characters going from place to place running from people, meeting new people and they talk about stuff. It just isn’t that interesting. There are pockets of interesting story in the movie but it either wraps those up quickly, or it doesn’t explore it enough, like the stuff with Hester and Shrike, that was interesting and it was part of her story, but I didn’t think it was explored enough for me to even care about her caring about him, nor did I care with what happened later. Same with those rebels, I didn’t know any of them to care about any of their sacrifices, I just cared about Anna Fang only because she was dope, not because we really got to know her and same with that Captain dude, only because he was cute lol.
Clichés Abound! The YA tropes are just sickening in this movie lol. You have the main heroine who is an action star, without much indication as to how she became that way. All of her flashbacks never show her once training to be anything like she is when we see her present time. She can just do it. You have the “rebellion” of people who are against the motor cities and half of them do nothing and the other half of them apparently do things to mess with the rollers. Sure sure. Then there’s the villain who of course came from nothing and has new ideas that old leaders are like “you’ve been at this for years, I’m over it!” and then of course the villain has a son or a daughter, who figures out their dad is a jerk and now must find out for themselves. It really just hits all the tropes and I rolled my eyes a lot during the film.
Overall, I enjoyed Mortal Engines and I think it’s a little sad that it didn’t do well but I also see why. I think it had a lot of potential but not as a film. I think Robert Sheehan is the best thing about the movie but that’s because he’s fun to watch and his character is just enough interesting that I wanted to know more about him. Hester is okay and she follows all of the heroine tropes but in the end, meh. I think this movie really shines with the production design and the chase scenes in how they’re handled. The opening chase was great and the other action sequences were pretty good as well. Now, I think the movie had very bland characters, none of them are that interesting and it’s a little sad because the skeletons are there but there isn’t enough flesh on those bones. I also found it cliché and fluffy in that nothing is really happening. It feels long to be long with no real substance. However, I did enjoy myself in that I didn’t hate the movie so there’s that lol.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.Mostly because of how the movie looks and the fact that I did enjoy it.
Have you seen Mortal Engines? Have you read the book series? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

Movie Review: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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Summary: Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever.
Spoilers for Endgame. So, if you haven’t seen that, then why are you even here??
Pros:
Cast and Characters.
  • Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man. Peter is dealing with a lot in this film, he of course is still a superhero with spider-like abilities, but he just wants to be a teenager and deal with teenager things. In Homecoming, he wanted to have more responsibility but now that things have changed, and he wants some of that responsibility to just go away but all the adults are telling him to “grow up! Step up!” and he just wants to go on vacation and be with the girl he likes. I think that’s a very relatable plot for Peter to have because any person would think that way, especially after the trauma he just experienced. He deals with a lot emotionally in this film and I take my hat off to Tom Holland who just kills it as both Peter and Spider-Man. I think he manages to handle Peter’s awkwardness and earnestness well. Whenever he’s flubbing over how to talk with MJ is cute, when he’s talking to Happy or even Beck, the little bits of emotion he goes through is handled really. Tom Holland is great in the role, Peter is very emotional due to Tony’s death and I really feel for him. He’s so great and likable, plus that one scene at the end when he catches something, the look on his face was so good that I just could not even handle it.
  • Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. He is the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D who has returned from The Snap or they call it “The Blip” and he’s trying to get Peter to work for him. I don’t think he quite understands how to handle Peter as he’s a teenager compared to handling Tony, Steve, Thor etc. He’s not very understanding, and he very much thinks that Peter is just too preoccupied with stupid high school problems. He needs to be a mentor but it’s not quite working out. Fury is interesting in this movie once you find out the things you find out and when you watch it again, you may just pick up on it the second time around. Sam Jackson is always great, he’s always great as Fury and I enjoy seeing him flounder just a bit because Fury is used to knowing everything, always being involved and he’s not quite getting that here.
  • Zendaya as Michelle / MJ. She is Peter Parker’s classmate, friend, and love interest. MJ is a bit odd in that she’s not quirky, at least not in the way we’re used to seeing people be quirky. She is very brutally honest, she’s awkward and comes off a little dark in terms of her interests. I love her deadpanned delivery and humor because it’s great and it’s different from what normally see from Peter’s love interests. I love Zendaya and I think she is great, and I think she has great chemistry with Tom Holland and I love that she is both cool and awkward. It really fits for this new character they created for her. I also love that she gets to keep her curls.
  • Jon Favreau as Harold “Happy” Hogan. The head of security for Stark Industries and former driver and bodyguard of Tony Stark who looks after Parker. Things are a bit hard for him too as Tony was his best friend, but he has found companionship in Aunt May, whether it’s an actual dating relationship or not, lol and he has become a mentor for Peter. He’s probably the only one in that “Avengers” world that Peter can still trust who was close to Tony. Happy’s always just been there for me, he’s been Tony’s friend, but I never thought he had that active of a role, but he gets a bit to do here. Jon Favreau is likable, and I also like his adult awkwardness when it comes to “flirting”, not to mention the great chemistry he has with Tom Holland.
  • Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds. Parker’s best friend and first confidant. Ned is Peter’s “man in the chair” and in this movie, he’s in his corner as to what Peter wants to do, but he also wants him to stop worrying so much about MJ and just have fun in Europe. Ned also gets a little cute side plot in the film and while it is random, it’s cute and it works out the way it needs to. I know that Ned is based off Miles Morales’ friend in the comics, but I like that they created him for Peter because he’s someone Peter can bounce ideas off who isn’t an adult and someone he can trust wholeheartedly. Ned is a great friend and I think the friendly chemistry between Jacob Batalon and Tom Holland works so well.
  • Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck / Mysterio. He is a hero from Earth-833 in the Multiverse. He gets recruited by Nick Fury to help Spider-Man stop the new threat that has emerged. Beck has this cool demeanor and he in ways takes Peter under his wing, being that he is a more seasoned hero. They end up creating this relationship that is almost a mentor-mentee relationship which I think is interesting considering what happened with Tony in Endgame. I like how that is portrayed in the film. I won’t go into more detail because it will spoil things, but I have always liked Jake Gyllenhaal and I think he does a great job in the role, he gets to have some interesting developments to do in this film. He is really compelling in the role which is quite interesting.
Really Funny and Charming. Spider-Man is always funny and charming, well if he’s written well he is, same with Peter. Tom Holland of course does a great job doing the awkwardness of Peter and the confidence that he has but also lacks. Peter is going through a lot in this film, but he just ultimately wants to be a teenager with teenage problems. He doesn’t want to deal with the whole responsibility of being a superhero so those moments where he’s just like “I just want to be on my trip with my friends and talk to the girl I like” and that’s his mantra but things of course don’t work out the way he wants them too. Zendaya also has great funny moments for MJ. In the first movie, I liked her a lot, but she wasn’t that involved, so in this one, they show her way more, she’s just a bit socially awkward and loves to point out things that other people might not want to point out. That’s her thing lol. Also, moments between Happy and Aunt May and things with Ned and his side plot. Honestly, you’ll probably laugh quite a bit in the film and I think you’ll smile a lot as well.
Emotional Weight. This movie is set right after Endgame, which means it’s five years into the future where the characters we know and love from Homecoming are still the same age, so we can assume that along with Peter, Ned, MJ, Betty, Flash and all of them got snapped. Which works out because we get to see our familiar people return, though it would have been interesting if Betty Brandt didn’t get Snapped so she could just be older, I always thought she was older than Peter anyway. But particularly from Peter and Happy who have both lost an instrumental person in their life from Tony Stark’s death and it’s still fresh for the audience, if you saw Endgame that you completely understand it. The movie doesn’t make us relive any of the Endgame deaths, but it does honor those characters. Plus, Peter partially feels that it’s his fault, if he was better and stronger and all of that.
The Story. The film picks up after Endgame and it’s in an interesting place. They refer to “The Snap” as “The Blip” as some people just “blipped” out of existence and then five years later they just returned, the same age they were five years ago, unchanged. They give us a quick update in a smart way, and some people are still shocked because some teens come back and their younger siblings are now physically older than them and it is a shocking situation but the movie doesn’t make a big deal out of it, which is good because we’ve already one movie that did that and we need a little lightness in our lives after that lol. But you know the whole “with great power comes great responsibility” in this Peter’s like “NO, I just want to be a kid!” and I like that this movie does that and it’s like the antithesis of Spider-Man: Homecoming where he wanted more responsibility.
Great Action Sequences. Ya’ll! All the action sequences in this movie are great. Some are more memorable and better than others, but I think they’re all choreographed well, with great visual effects and are super cool. I believe all the action starts to happen when they get to Europe and while it’s not necessarily nonstop action, whenever it’s shown on screen, it’s badass. Most memorable is the entire sequence at the end.
The Human/Teenage Stuff. One of the most charming things about Peter being portrayed as a teenager is that we get the teenage angst, drama and all that and it works. I know people often talk about the fact that they prefer when Peter is an adult compared to a teenager, but we have tons of adults in the MCU, it’s nice to follow a teenager because his problems are going to be different and everyone can probably relate to them because we’ve all been teenagers at some point in our lives. It really works for Spider-Mand and plus, it allows them to get more movies out of him and I’m down for that.
A Particular Scene. I can’t go into this without giving it away, so I won’t but there is a scene in Berlin that is SO GOOD that I literally was blown away. I mean BLOWN AWAY. Maybe not literally blown away but it was so good that I am still thinking about it now. Just the emotional turmoil from Peter, the effects and the dialogue. Man, it’s just so good. Great job movie. GREAT JOB!
Cons:
Some Visual Effects. Obviously, you expect great effects considering what MCU has done with The Hulk, Thanos and some other things, but of course when you have a character like Spider-Man who does a lot of agile stuff, it might be harder to make it look real. There are a few times where it’s clearly CGI and it wasn’t even like “oh that CGI is CGI but it’s pretty good” it’s more like “eww that’s CGI and it doesn’t look good” it happens a few times, where I kind of was taken out of the movie, particularly in my favorite scene where there’s like an illusion of a bunch of somethings (no spoilers see!) and it was pretty jarring. Then the elemental beings we get, those also don’t look that great a lot of times either. What happens is cool and I guess it’s explained buutt I don’t think I would think those were real if I was in this world.
Overall, I loved this movie. I think it’s my second favorite Spider-Man film (Spider-verse being first of course) and my favorite live action Spider-Man film which is high praise lol but I loved a lot of what this movie did. I think the characters, particularly Peter and MJ have grown a lot, which makes them more likable and I think Zendaya really shines in her role here. I think if anyone didn’t like her much in the first one, you’d find that might have changed here. Tom Holland is a great Peter Parker and really shows the emotional trauma and loss he feels, not to mention, his need for normalcy. I get it Peter, I do. He’s so good with emotional scenes that I just want to hug him lol. The other characters are good as well, Jake Gyllenhaal was a great addition to the Spider-verse (see what I did there? lol) and I hope we see more of him in the future… in any form he may take lol. Far from Home is also funny, but not like that “look it’s funny!” kind of humor that GOTG does but just more everyday humor and it’s cute plus it’s super charming. The emotional weight is really felt but a lot of that is because of Tom Holland even Jon Favreau. Plus, so much more. This movie was a great bit of light and hope in the wake of the sadness that came from Endgame. I don’t have many negatives, believe me I tried to think of them lol, but I think mainly the CGI was inconsistent and I was like “meh” on certain points but it’s not glaringly bad. ANYWAYS, if you haven’t seen Spider-Man: Far from Home yet, then get on it, it’s a great watch.
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Have you seen Spider-Man: Far from Home? What are your thoughts?
What is your favorite Spider-Man film?
Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for more reviews!

My Thoughts: Live Action The Little Mermaid

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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So, anyone who knows me knows that my favorite Disney movie is The Little Mermaid. Ever since I was a kid, I have wanted to be a mermaid and Ariel has always been my favorite Disney princess. I know this movie pretty much word for word.

Back when Disney announced their slate for the live action remakes, I remember seeing The Little Mermaid being part of that list but it didn’t seem to be finalized like the others were. If read any of my other pieces about the live action, you know that I’m okay with these remakes. They don’t bother me the way they seem to bother other people. I loved LOVED Aladdin, I loved The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast.

You can also check out My Thoughts: Disney Remakes. I’ll probably do another post similar to this now that we have more of these.

I think TLM would be a nice big challenge to do live action and to do well. We’ve seen mermaids in other mediums but they never really show them having an entire kingdom and conversations under water. It’s always above water and what not but then after watching Aquaman, which I thought was just okay, it’s clear that it can be done. Now, I would imagine that with the resources and funds that Disney has, their effects would look a lot better than they did in Aquaman.

The Cast

So, we have a few confirmed actors for the characters.

Halle Bailey as Ariel

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Ariel has always been my favorite Disney princess and I’ve always related to her curiosity and wonderment. Sure, everyone likes to pick on her because she gave up her life to be with a guy, and while I’m not saying that’s not true, she wanted to go to the surface BEFORE she even saw Eric. She sings “Part of Your World” before she even sees him. So, let’s not act like she saw him and it was a wrap. ANYWAYS, I like this casting.

I know a good majority of people wanted Zendaya and don’t get me wrong, I was up for that as well, especially when the picture below surfaced. It’s lovely fanart and I like Zendaya, I know she can act, I like her singing voice (they would just have to make the music in a lower range since Zendaya’s voice is just a tad deeper) but I’m not surprised as she’s doing her thing in her new HBO show AND she’s Michelle “MJ” Jones in Spider-Man.

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But I’m not mad at Halle Bailey’s choice because I think she’s cute, she’s young (19) and has a wistful look about her AND she can SING. I am always impressed when she and her sister perform because they both have beautiful voices. I also really like her look and I love the fact that she has locs and I REALLY hope they keep that look and if they want to keep the red, which I am partial too, then just dye her locs a lovely red color.

I have not seen her act, I know she’s on Grown-Ish but I don’t watch that show right now, so I’m familiar with her acting, but Ariel spends a majority of the movie silent. So, a lot of her acting will be emotional/dramatic and physical. It was cute to see her try to fit in with the humans and it’s funny. They also gave Ariel some great emotional and dramatic moments in the animated film and she’s animated beautifully whenever she’s surprised, sad or anything of the like. So, I really hope that Halle Bailey can do all of that and more. It would really give her the chance to show what’s she got. I have faith in her.

Prince Eric

*swoons* He was one of my first movie crushes. Him and Aladdin lol. We do not have a Prince Eric just yet BUT I have some thoughts on this. So, I wouldn’t necessarily be mad if they kept Eric, Caucasian or if they race bended him to Asian, Hispanic whatever, but I would assume that his Kingdom would be just about located in/around the Caribbean so it makes more sense for him to also be black, plus, it would probably just sit better with people that Ariel didn’t leave her black family behind, or gave up her voice because she fell for a white guy. Just saying. I had a few ideas come to mind for him.

If they didn’t make Eric black then I would pick Shawn Mendes because I like him. I think he’s the right age, he’s cute and he can sing, they can give Eric a song in the movie lol and he’s biracial… his father is Portuguese.

My top choice right now is Jordan Fisher.

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I actually thought of Kelvin Harrison Jr. first, well his face not his name lol, I think he is super cute but I saw Jordan Fisher mentioned in an article about it and I was like OMG! Why didn’t I think of him sooner? I love Jordan Fisher. He has a great voice, singing and speaking, he is super charming and I think with his personality, they would give Eric way more to do (at least I hope so). He’s 25, which I think should be the cutoff age in terms of casting someone now that wouldn’t be too much older than Halle Bailey. I would assume when they start filming will be 2020 so she’ll be 20 and he’ll be 26 which keeps a healthy gap. Anyone older would be too weird.

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This is Kelvin Harrison Jr. He’s also super cute, he’s 24. Now, I don’t know about his acting just yet (He’s in the movie adaption of Walter Dean Myers’ book Monster, called All Rise which I’ve been waiting to see). I also think he’d look great with Halle Bailey.

 

 

Also also, my coworker just mentioned this, Avan Jogia could be a possible contender for Prince Eric. I still prefer Jordan Fisher but I wouldn’t be mad at making Jogia a Disney Prince.

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King Triton

My instant thought when I saw Halle Bailey’s casting was Idris Elba or Morris Chesnutt lol, which people are agreeing with me hahaha.

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I think he’ll be amazing, plus with his great voice, whether he keeps his accent or not, I think he’d be great! He has that majestic feeling about him. I think he’d be great. Also give him locs like he has in Thor, make them nice of course, but give him silver hair instead of white hair.

Ursula

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I don’t like this casting at all. I enjoy Melissa McCarthy for the most part but the funniest I ever found her was Bridesmaids and Spy. Ursula is humorous yes, but she is also devious, she is cunning, a little sexy and she’s scary. Right now, I cannot see McCarthy pulling this off, in fact, in my mind, she’s doing her same old shtick. I have not seen the movie she was recently nominated for but this is a Disney movie, and I feel like she’ll go overboard. I don’t like it.

Queen Latifah

Some years ago, Annie Leibowitz, the photographer, does a series of photos where celebrities are Disney characters and they had Queen Latifah pose as Ursula. I think this is inspired casting because Queen is regal like Ursula, I think she can pull off the sexy and the terrifying!

LIZZO

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I was introduced to Lizzo from RuPaul’s Drag Race, she was a guest judge and I loved her energy and humor. I heard that she expressed her want to play Ursula and I even saw her Twitter video of her singing a bit of “Poor Unfortunate Souls”, which of course needs to be SLAYED by whoever plays Ursula and I want an anthem, not some kind of talk/jokey hybrid. I enjoyed what I saw. I’m not super familiar with her music just yet, but I do plan on checking on her because I have liked what I heard so far. I’m down for it. She would be a younger Ursula but why not as Jafar was younger lol.

Sebastian

Obviously, he wouldn’t be an actual person but I wonder what he’s gonna look like because I mean, he’s a crab lol who looks a bit like a lobster. It shall be interesting. I heard someone mention Lin-Manuel Miranda for the part, but I think he should just stick to doing the music as the music was a nice highlight for Moanaso he should just do that and let someone else play Sebastian.

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Tituss Burgess played Sebastian in The Little Mermaid on Broadway and he was excellent. I saw it on YouTube years ago and it was great quality lol. He can totally reprise the role again here, he just won’t be on stage this time, but he has great energy, he’s sassy and he can SING. Let’s get it.

 

 

Jacob Tremblay as Flounder and Awkwafina as Scuttle

These two are together because they were the first cast announcements.

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I adore Jacob Tremblay ever since I saw him in Room, he was fantastic. He’s done well in everything I saw him in even if I don’t particularly like the movie lol but I think he’s a perfect choice for Flounder.

As for Awkwafina, she annoys me, her voice, she’s not that funny and I get this try-hard vibe from her so I’m like…

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but I guess I’m okay with it in the end because Scuttle is also annoying so I guess it works out in the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ariel’s Sisters/Atlantica/Eric’s Kingdom

Atlantica should just be a very diverse place as should Prince Eric’s kingdom. I’ve seen a lot of push for Eric to be Asian, so regardless if he’s Black or Asian, just make sure his kingdom has a bit of everyone in there, especially living on the water. Perhaps his Kingdom is a bit of a port city, a lot of immigrants I would think.

As for Ariel’s sisters, there are a lot of jokes out there right now, but I do think they should have Chloe Bailey be one of her sisters, perhaps the second to youngest, and maybe Ariel is really close to her. I’ve seen a lot of “King Triton should be white and some of her sisters should be” and I’m like “No, give me a black family.” So, they can clearly have different colored hair if you want to be funky, just make sure it doesn’t look ridiculous when doing it, but I do believe her sisters were all blondes and brunettes, so it could also just simple hair colors and have Ariel stand out with her having red locs. I think it would be pretty cool.

The Music

We know that they are bringing back the classic songs, which is great, and Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda are working together and I think there might be some new songs, which is cool. I think Eric needs a song lol. I just hope we keep the same feeling of the music, particularly in ‘Part of Your World’ but update it to fit the new world and Halle Bailey’s lovely voice. I really liked what they did to the music in Aladdinso it can be done in a contemporary way.

The Story

The story is well-known if you’ve seen the animated feature. It is very different from the original story by Hans Christian Anderson, thank goodness because that story is dark lol. But mermaid wants to go to the surface world as she has collected so many trinkets, one day she sees actual humans, including a human prince who catches her eye and now she really wants to go in order to meet him. She saves his life which allows him to have some idea of the woman who saved him and then shenanigans ensue.

I think in order to update this story line more, so it’s not just this girl giving up her life to be with some guy, but perhaps give her more opportunity to see him, or maybe even talk to him. Something so we see her have the chance to fall for him more. I’m thinking, we see the opening as usual, so skip forward to when she sings “Part of Your World” and of course the fireworks and the boat and all that. So, she manages to climb up high enough to watch the men on the boat, I would even say throw some women on there, women can be sailors, and they’re having a party, dancing, singing some song, sharing food and laughter. It would be a grand sight and she’s intrigued by all of this. Of course she sees Max, something she’s never seen before, but then maybe they break out into some sailor’s song or something and Ariel hears Eric sing (which leads into Jordan Fisher singing his song), something quick and she’s enamored by his voice, which I feel like it would be a nice connection because she loves music, she’s supposed to have this beautiful voice compared to her sisters and Eric also has a nice voice. She watches him as he dances, mingles and sings with his people and she likes his energy and charm.

So of course, she saves him as usual, she sings her song and then swims off. I WANT THEM TO MEET AGAIN as it would make more sense. This movie will probably be two hours long as it’s not animated and has the chance for more meat on its bones.

Hear me out.

After she runs off the first time, she comes back maybe a few more times. Eric walks the beach often with Max, maybe with the hope of seeing the mysterious girl again. Maybe Eric has a solo song? Something about his duty and freedom, lol I don’t know. Then later, Ariel goes a bit early, hiding in the same place among the rocky area and hums the song she sang or “Part of Your World” which she sang the reprise to him. He comes right on time and recognizes the song and she’s hiding in the rocky part of the beach and he’s like “It’s you isn’t it?” and then they have this awkward conversation, where she refuses to show herself to him. I feel like they could do this a few times to give them a chance to talk and for her to fall for him more which would attribute to her growing want/need to be on the surface.

When her father finds out she’s gone multiple times, talked to a human AND has fallen in love with him, it gives him way more of a reason to destroy her grotto and more of a reason to go into Ursula’s arms. Also, I feel like Triton should mention something about her mother, perhaps Ariel looks just like her and she was killed, like in the prequel movie. This is all good stuff. When Ariel finally shows up on land, of course she can’t talk so Eric doesn’t recognize her voice or her singing voice which means she just has to go off of her personality which is charming too as she is literally a fish out of water.

I think that they should give Ariel and Eric more interactions so she doesn’t just leave her family behind like others like to point out so often. Then the rest can follow as normal, just throw in more meat to fill in that runtime.

I think it’s important for their relationship to feel organic and not just rushed. I think it can be done if done correctly. I’m a little wary of Rob Marshall as the director but hopefully everyone surrounding him helps create a lovely story that is the one, we know and love but also updated.

Overall

I’m excited for the movie and to see what becomes of it. I am a bit nervous just because it is my favorite Disney movie and Ariel is my favorite Disney princess, so I definitely hold this one really close to my heart, but I’m not going to hate it before I even see anything. I always try to be open-minded so I can’t wait. Film production begins in 2020 and I think 2021 would be too soon so I anticipate May 2022 for release. We’ll see though lol.

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Thanks for reading!

Movie Review: Dark Phoenix (2019)

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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Summary: Jean Grey begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt and turn her into a Dark Phoenix. Now the X-Men will have to decide if the life of a team member is worth more than all of humanity.
This is a really late review lol but finally here it is!
Pros:
Cast and Characters. Honestly, we have a lot of characters in this movie but I don’t think there is enough screen time for most of them for us to really care about them outside of the fact they are characters we have seen in previous movies or we know them from the comics.
  • Sophie Turner as Jean Grey. She is an extremely powerful mutant with telepathic and telekinetic powers. In this film, the X-men have been working alongside the government in certain missions. In this one, it’s something with NASA so the X-men are sent to help out which causes Jean to have to hold the spaceship together while Kurt tries to save the last astronaut. This causes her to be hit with the cosmic cloud. Throughout the film, she deals with the unraveling of her mind and the strength of her powers. She goes back and forth between being vulnerable and confident as she loses more of who she was and goes into someone she’s not sure she wants to be. The film is ultimately about her and her journey and I think Sophie Turner does a good job with the ups and downs Jean goes through. If you don’t like Sansa Stark then you might be reminded of her in the beginning when Jean’s all crying and what not but when she takes on the confidence of the Phoenix she does the smirking expressions and the kind of darkness of Phoenix to the point where I was like “Yass I’m into it” lol. Also, her American accent was a lot better in this one compared to her first outing as Jean. She slipped a few times but it was overall good.
  • James McAvoy as Charles Xavier / Professor X. He is a mutant pacifist and he founded Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. In this, Charles seems to be loving the attention they are getting from the world and others call him out on it. If anyone can be said about Charles, it’s he tries to make decisions with the best intentions, for the “greater good”. He never does anything to ruin a person’s life, or to better himself. He does it to help and I think that’s always been his thing. Sure, he may not always be morally right and he may not make the best decisions, but it’s not like he’s a bad guy. Anyway, James McAvoy is so good as Charles though, he’s always so good.
Supporting Characters. 
  • Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto. He’s not in the movie that much, he comes in maybe the halfway mark and then sticks around but he’s not a big player like he has been in the past. He only really gets involved because he’s living on some mutant island where they can be safe and Jean goes to him for sanctuary. When he finds out what happened, he spends a good chunk going after Jean. Michael Fassbender is still good as Erik, he doesn’t get a ton to do in this movie but when he’s on screen, he still is very dynamic.
  • Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy / Beast. I like Nicholas Hoult and I think he does really well with the emotional weight his character goes through really well. I do not like him in the movie but I think Hoult still does a great job with Hank though.
  • Tye Sheridan as Scott Summers / Cyclops. He can fire optic beams with his eyes. In this film he and Jean are in a developing relationship and it’s part of what helps her stay grounded, that and the idea of family. He’s a foundation of hope for Jean. I like Tye Sheridan and I like him as Scott, he doesn’t get a ton to do in this film but I like the chemistry with him and Sophie Turner.
  • Jessica Chastain as Vuk. Without going into any spoiler details, she is trying to lead Jean and teach her how to use her power that causes her to give in to the power. She is very clinical and unsettling. I think a lot of it has to do with her appearance but I think Jessica Chastain does a fine job in the role.
Story Idea. Of course, the story idea of Jean dealing with the cosmic powers from space and the whole dark phoenix thing is awesome. I think it’s really great to see her struggle with her power, her trauma and identity.
Use of Powers. The action in this movie is handled well. How Jean’s powers are used, while not as massive as they could be, I thought was handled really well, particularly the scene at the end when she really gets to show out. I also think how Nightcrawler gets to use his powers, particularly in the last half of the film is super exciting! Getting to see Charles in the midst of battle use his powers against someone else who also has his powers… to see other characters get to shine during action scenes was really fun to watch. If anything, the action and power use is really exciting! On a negative (?) note, they do know that Storm can do more than harness lightning, right? Just thought I’d ask.
Cons:
Other Characters. I swear, the other characters are just there because they were in previous movies. I love both Storm and Nightcrawler. They are my favorite X-men and I feel like the movies just don’t know what to do with them, or at least how to utilize them the way they should. Even Scott, is just reduced to “Jean I’m here for you…” and blah blah blah and I’m like *rolls eyes* I know the movie is about Jean and while the other characters KIND of get to shine in action pieces, I just wish their personalities get the same love as the action.
Nothing’s happening? For a good chunk of the movie there’s not much happening. It just seems like Jean’s going from place to place, crying and being afraid of whatever’s happening to her. She goes from person to person to find help and finally when she meets Jessica Chastain, things seem to be kicking off. It just felt like an hour of nothing really going on until the last 30 minutes or so.
Forgettable. I don’t think this movie makes the stamp it really wants to make. I feel like in the sea of X-men movies we have, this one will kind of just float on by because the tension isn’t really there. I didn’t feel like anything was really going to happen that would be long lasting. I mean, it’s hard to really take it seriously considering what’s going on behind the scenes with Marvel Studios taking over now, but even without that, I don’t think it would really make the impression it wants to make. I mean, outside of me doing this review, I’m like… okay.
Freaking Mystique. She’s never been my favorite character in the X-men universe but she’s a bit cool and the movies made her cooler however, I don’t care for this whole thing of trying to make her be a good guy or make her be an X-men. Is it because it’s Jennifer Lawrence? Is she not allowed to be a bad guy? In this movie she’s leading the X-men team out in the field but she is also upset at Charles, even more so than she’s been in other movies. I’m over her. Mystique has always worked at the betterment of herself. Yes, I don’t mind her wanting to protect the kids, but stop trying to make her into something she’s not because it’s just really annoying and it makes me hate her. I don’t think Jennifer Lawrence is a bad actress, I think she’s fine, I just find her character (particularly in this) super annoying and I don’t like the direction or the writing for her character. She comes off really whiny.
Do We Hate Charles Now? I’m sorry this might be spoiler-ish? I feel like they might have been setting this up in other movies, which is fine, but since when do we all hate and distrust Charles? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to act like his choices were perfect, especially when it came to helping Jean, but let’s not act like he does things for his own ego. He does things to help others. Sure, he’s at an interesting place in this movie but don’t sit here and allow Mystique, and then Hank to sit here and act like Charles is the reason for every bad thing that’s happened? No thanks. I did not like that and I was upset every time it was brought up and the first 30 minutes, I was sitting in my chair fuming. I don’t think it was a good plot point because it was stupid. Having Jean be upset or whatever is okay because that makes sense but the other stuff? Meh. I hate it.
Overall, I didn’t hate Dark Phoenix, especially not in the way I’ve seen other people call it ‘trash’ which I don’t think it is, but I don’t think it’s as good as it should be. This movie has gone through a lot in terms of reshoots and what not and I think it shows. I think Jean and Charles who are the main leads are interesting and Sophie Turner and James McAvoy handle their characters really well. The other characters do just fine overall and the acting is good. The story is really interesting and I just wish we got to see a bit more and I really like how the powers are used in this film, everyone kind of gets their moment to shine. Now, I don’t think the character development and personalities get the same amount of love the action does. I think it’s a very forgettable movie in the sea of comic book movies or even X-men movies. I HATE Mystique in these movies and I’m sick of her being shoved in my face as a good person, they’re giving me whiplash with who she is and what her motives are. JUST STOP. Jennifer Lawrence clearly doesn’t want to do these because I swear, she’s phoning it in. Also, this whole thing of people wanting to turn on Charles because he’s made some bad decisions, I mean please. UGH! I hated that too. In the end, this is a fine movie to watch, especially if you are an X-men fan. Check it out.
Rating: 2.9 out of 5 stars. 
Have you seen Dark Phoenix? What were your thoughts? Comment below and let me know! I would love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading and be sure to keep an eye out for any future reviews!

Movie Review: Five Feet Apart (2019)

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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Summary: A pair of teenagers with cystic fibrosis meet in a hospital and fall in love, though their disease means they must avoid close physical contact.
Probably spoilers… because I mean… for real?
Pros:
Cast and Characters…sometimes. We pretty much have our set of characters that
  • Haley Lu Richardson as Stella Grant. She has cystic fibrosis and is very particular about how she lives her life. She has a plan she follows quite closely and when she meets Will, she notices that he’s like “devil may care” and she ends up pretty much taking over his regime to help him get his little life together. We learn a few things about Stella as the movie goes on but nothing that keeps her interesting. I just find that Richardson was likable and charming and I thought she did really well, especially in that emotional part towards the end. I actually teared up. I mean, Stella is an okay character but Richardson makes her more likable and less bland which I thought she was for the most part.
  • Cole Sprouse as Will Newman. Literally the reason why I wanted to watch this movie and he doesn’t disappoint me. Cole Sprouse is very likable in his role and he’s very charming. Will seems to be a kind of wealthy kid; he has an infection in his lungs and is at the hospital for a week long drug trial. He is a bit of a rule breaker and doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do in taking care of himself, taking his pills and all the other stuff. I was expecting him to be a bit more rebellious
  • Moisés Arias as Poe Ramirez. He’s Stella’s best friend also has CF and he’s the quirky best friend. He often talks his romances and he’s ultimately there for Stella, six feet apart of course, but he’s there for her. He’s charming and likable in his way as well. Moises Arias is fine, anyone probably could have played Poe. I like the friendship he has with Stella and the one he creates with Will.
  • Kimberly Hébert Gregory as Nurse Barbara. Nurse Barb is loving towards her kids she’s in charge of. I love the relationship she has with Stella in particular. She’s like their mother away from home. She’s caring and concerned and she has reasons as to why she can be strict when it comes to allowing the romance. Completely understand her. I even feel bad for her at times because she really just wants to keep these kids alive for as long as she can. I don’t know the actress well but I really liked her, she’s very motherly and charming.
Really Sweet Moments. This movie has some really nice pockets of sweetness. True story, my friend and I were watching it and we were like “ughhh” and then Will comes into Stella’s room when she’s about to have surgery because the thingy in her stomach is infected. Will watched her YouTube videos and saw that her sister Abby used to sing a song to her before a surgery, so he sneaks into the room and HE SINGS THE SONG HER SISTER USED TO SING FOR HER before a surgery. That was so FREAKING SWEET. There are a lot of other moments that are like that in the film.
Main Lead Chemistry. I’m not particularly into the romance between Will and Stella but I did think Richardson and Sprouse had nice chemistry. They were cute when they were interacting but the quiet moments were the best, whenever they were just looking at each other, or weren’t trying to have some conversation.
Nice Soundtrack. The soundtrack was very hopeful and sad at the same time. That is all.
Cons:
Character Development. We don’t get much of it. There are some pieces of dialogue that  say who is a character is and what not, and we get to see who they are in some forms by looking at their hospital rooms but they don’t really grow throughout the film other than falling in love with each other. At least no growth that doesn’t have anything to do with the romance aspect. I was like meh, I don’t really care about these characters. They’re cute I guess but meh.
Cliché/Teen Tropes. In our first attempt to watch this movie, I literally called out all the tropes, particularly that are formulaic in teen movies/stories. Beautiful people are having a hard time, in this they’re sick, and the girl is uptight and the boy is all chill and stuff. They end up becoming friends but they can’t be close because of something, in this it’s because they’re sick. The girl has a quirky best friend who may or may not be a minority, in this he’s a POC AND gay. I could go on and on and it was kind of irritating because it’s so obviously that it’s like “meh, nothing is new in this.”
Boooooring. Usually, I read the book before I see the movie but I didn’t do it for this time… I will read it though, I checked it out from the library to read it, but this movie is so boring! It also felt so long and it’s only 116 minutes. Will and Stella just talk and talk and talk. I guess they can’t do much because of their disease but it’s not interesting to watch them talk.
What Stakes? So, this is clearly trying to be like The Fault in Our Stars, which I really loved both the book and the movie (I don’t like Gus though lol) but it doesn’t necessarily have the same charm or the tension that it thinks it has. At least not consistently. They’re both sick. Will is there for a drug trial but with what he has, and Stella of course having CF. But I did not think that either of them was going to die. At least not for real. I mean there is a death which I totally called because these types of movies always have these moments but outside of that one time, I thought Will was going to die BECAUSE OF STELLA’S STUPID DECISION, that was really it.
The last 20 minutes. I’m not sure if it was exactly the last twenty minutes or not, but something happens and Stella loses her mind and honestly, the acting in her freak out scene was really good and I really felt it to the point where I did tear up, but everything after that got on my nerves. Stella was being really stupid, like I get it, you want to live passionately now but don’t be a dumbass. GAH! Then there’s not really any consequences for what she did. I mean, it doesn’t end in a perfectly happy ending or anything but if I was Will, I would have been way more upset than Will was and I like AHHH! Unrealistic!
Overall, Five Feet Apart is not that great. There are pockets that really stand out as being good but it’s not a consistent occurrence. Haley Lu Richardson is really good in the movie, she’s charming and Cole Sprouse is likable and charming as well. I think they had good chemistry with each other. There are also really strong pockets of sweet moments in the film. But I would say the positive stop there. I didn’t find the characters interesting outside of the good acting. It’s very cliché and really hits all of the teen romance tropes and I found that it was trying too hard to be like other movies of its kind, that are better. Not to mention, it’s super boring. I watched this movie in two sittings and the second time I’m pretty sure I kept making jokes. I also thought there were no stakes, I didn’t think anyone would actually die or have anything really bad happen to the point where I was worried about a happy ending. Plus, the last twenty minutes or so really angered me.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars. 
Have you seen Five Feet Apart? Do you want to? If you like teen romance then sure… check it out if Richardson and Sprouse catch your eye which they are the best parts of the film.