Is Ronda Rousey our Captain Marvel?

Following rumors, and some great fan art, posted online that suggest Ronda Rousey could potentially having a chance at playing the upcoming Marvel character, Captain Marvel AKA Carol Danvers – with her solo movie set for a 2nd November 2018 release – I thought I’d weight in on the conversation with my own opinion on whether or not the UFC badass and all round awesome celebrity personality should play one of Marvel’s strongest female superheros.

I would first like to say that everything you read in this article is pure speculation and/or rumors and that, upon the time that this was posted, Rousey has only been rumored to play the part, she is not in talks with anyone at Marvel officially or been cast for the role.

Now to get to what I think about this news, I honestly like it. Whether you’re a fan of Rousey or not, it cannot be denied that she is a rising star, currently grabbing headlines with her unbelievable wins in UFC fighting, annihilating what’s left of her competition. I am personally a fan of Rousey, she a fantastic athlete and I find her to be a great personality. Regardless of how I feel about Rousey though, I must try to evaluate unbiasedly if I think she is a good fit for the role of Captain Marvel. I think that Ronda Rousey is good fit for the role of Captain Marvel. As a character, Captain Marvel stands for many things and one of the things that I feel she stands for strongly is female empowerment and showing that women are powerful in their own right. This is clearly a strong link between the character and Rousey herself as Rousey stands for female body image, doing great things to raise awareness for women who have more muscular bodies, that might not be considered the ideal female figure, and supports women to feel confident about their body.

She is also a strong female figure, being a good role model for girls to look up to and aspire to be more like and this is everything that Captain Marvel similarly stands for. Rousey has also built a strong fan base, appealing to both genders and many races, which can be a difficult thing for celebrities to do. For these reasons I can definitely see why many people believe that Ronda Rousey would make a great Carol Danvers. However, despite all of the above reasons, that I personally believe, I don’t think that Ronda Rousey should play Captain Marvel. She is great for many reasons but her acting is not one of them. I don’t believe that Rousey is a good enough actor from what I’ve seen her in – Expendables 3, Fast 7 – and although I completely believe that one day she can become a great actor and go on to do great things in the film industry, she is not ready to lead and carry a film on her own, particularly one as important as Captain Marvel as it will be one of the first female lead superhero movies and the first Marvel female lead superhero movie.

Ronda you keep doing what you do best and hopeful we’ll see you do some great acting work in the future but right now there are so many other female actors better equip to take on this great character (If you’re reading Hollywood please give Emily Blunt a call). Do you think Rousey is right for Captain Marvel? Who would you cast? Feel free to comment below and share you’re thoughts and also like if you liked this post.

Thanks For Reading Another Movie Blog.

(My Long Over Due) Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Review (2015)

The newest installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise- Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation – is written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher) and stars returning cast members Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and Jeremy Renner as well as additional cast members Rebecca Ferguson and Alec Baldwin. To start off, I have been highly anticipating Rogue Nation for quite some time as I’m a big of the Mission Impossible franchise. The installment previous to Rogue Nation (Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol) immediately became the best in the franchise – a review for which is up on my site right now – and showed that this franchise was still great. I was then delight to see that Rogue Nation has continued the trend that it’s predecessor had set, being another fantastic installment and becoming the best in series – depending on who you talk to.

Rogue Nation starts off well straight out of the gate, opening with an exhilarating sequence that really does a great job of setting up what’s to come and encapsulating everything amazing about the franchise. After an incredible opener the film continues to rise in stakes and quality with scenes filled with incredible suspense, tension and stunts. An example of this an action scene that takes place in an Opera House, about a quarter into the film. The scene is beautifully shot as at no point was I unsure of the who was doing what (which can sometimes happen in action sequences *cough* Transformers *cough*) and the close ups that were used were timed well as they enhanced the suspense rather than subtracted from it. The scene didn’t have to rely entirely on a gun fight to keep it’s audience engaged either, instead having a fight scene in a tight location and expertly using close ups to give the scene a claustrophobic feel, really raising the tension and showing how expert film making was present in this movie. Another area that the film succeeds in, and one of my favourite aspects of the film and this franchise, is the relationship between the team members. There’s a great team dynamic, that was present in Ghost Protocol, but it is improved upon here, as we are treated to some amazing character moments between each member, seeing how their skills contribute to the mission and how their personalities can clash. This excellently develops each character further and really gives the audience a great understanding of how these people are more than just co workers, they’re friends. As well as the film offering up more of what makes the franchise great – awe inspiring stunts and sequences of incredible tension – it also brings new things to the table that the previous installments either didn’t have or simply failed to do. One of these being a solid villain in the form of Sean Harris who plays Solomon Lane.

As I discussed in my review for Ghost Protocol, something that that movie fails in doing is creating a strong villain. Rogue Nation not only improves upon this mistake but fixes it entirely as Harris’ Solomon Lane is everything he needed to be. Acted excellently by Harris, Lane comes across as creepy, cold and calculated, always being 3 steps ahead of Hunt and his team. Something I personally found interesting and compelling about his character was the dynamic between him and Ethan. Throughout the film we see both men constantly trying to out smart each other, and from the moment they met, it instantly becomes a cat and mouse game. I found this to be far more compelling than a physical rivalry between the two as the mind games that they both played with each other keeps the audience engaged and guessing as to who has the upper hand. It was also extremely refreshing to see a strong villain in a block-bluster, especially one who was more about brains than brawl as this made Lane more unpredictable and thrilling to watch. One last thing that I would be doing a disservice to if I didn’t talk about it was Rebecca Ferguson’s present as Ilsa Faust.

Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust was a breath of fresh air into Rogue Nation as her character introduced something that the franchise hadn’t been deprived of but definitely needed: a strong female lead. Ferguson’s Ilsa is a big aspect of why this film works as her performance of a character that wasn’t solely sex appeal or forced feminism was fresh and felt natural. Her character felt toe-to-toe with Cruise’s Ethan Hunt as you completely believe that she can do as much ass kicking as he can while also being as cunning as he is, if not more. Ferguson also has great energy with Cruise as you believe the relationship between the two, not leaving her to be another cliched love interest for the male lead, like Hollywood loves to so often portray women as. In the end Ferguson’s Ilsa is strong female character, that brings a lot to the table the way she is written and played, showing that woman can be just as bad-ass as men in film.

Overall, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is another great entry into a franchise that seems to be getting better and better with every new movie. I honestly had some worries with Christopher McQuarrie writing and directing this one as I wasn’t too impressed with Jack Reacher but he managed to make me forgot all that when I had seen his finished product. That’s about all the negative things I can say about Rogue Nation, I loved the stunts, the villain was great, the female character was well realised, it had incredible scenes of suspense and all the returning cast members were once again excellent. My score for Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation is an A. I hope you enjoyed this review, feel free to comment below and share your thoughts. Thanks For Reading.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Review (2011)

So I decided that in honor of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation opening this weekend- that I will be reviewing later this week once I have a chance to see it- I would go back a review my favourite Mission Impossible movie- Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

Ghost Protocol does a lot of things right. It stands as almost a perfect spy thriller, with a great blend of action and suspense spread through, fun humor, often delivered by the excellent Simon Pegg, and of course movie star Tom Cruise committed to doing death defying stunts and having a great on screen presence. Director Brad Bird took this on as his first live action movie, previously working in animation, creating some of its finest like The Incredibles and Ratatouille, and completely knocked it out of the park here. Bird’s glorious style of film making, with wide shots of fantastic scenery and thrilling chase sequences, show really how much a great film-maker he is, and this shines through particularly in everyone’s favourite scene- and possibly the best of the franchise- the Burj Khalifa climbing scene in Dubai.

This fantastic scene encapsulates so many great things about the Mission Impossible franchise. The scene is filmed gloriously by Brad Bird, as we get large, wide shots of Cruise climbing up the side of the Khalifa, that look stunning and further enhance the suspense. The suspense and tension built in the scene is incredible, as Ethan Hunt’s (Cruise) gear is constantly failing him at the time he needs it most, raising the stakes more and more as the scene goes on. Tom Cruise confirms his super star status as his willingness and eagerness to performing his own stunts only adds to the magic of the scene, allowing Bird to take the shots he wants without having to be concerned about the right angles and this truly creates an energetic tension, making the scene something special for the audience. This scene really does capture everything amazing about this film and franchise- Tom Cruise’s movie star magic, awe inspiring stunts and the constantly rising tension that all spy thrillers need.

Of course Ghost Protocol isn’t without flaws and unfortunately the flaws in this film are glaring. Without a doubt the film’s biggest problem is it’s villain, Kurt Hendricks played by Michael Nyqvist. Throughout the film Hendricks is almost never present on screen and we never get a chance to truly understand his motives to start a nuclear war. This unfortunately lefts the character to be very one dimensional, without any development, and as an audience we can’t attach to a character who just serves to further the plot. One other big problem I find with the film is that- although its an incredible scene that I wouldn’t have any other way- the climbing scene in Dubai unintentionally takes away from the rest of the movie. I find that after the heart pounding sequences in Dubai come to a close, it makes the end of the film a bit forgettable as it can’t possible match the same awe and suspense as the scenes previous. This is unfortunate as I personally really enjoy the film’s climatic ending but it’s sadly no match for incredible climbing scene on the Khalifa.

Overall, I think that Ghost Protocol, despite its flaws, is a extremely enjoyable spy thriller, with some incredible stunts, great performances, excellent direction, and a good plot, easily becoming the best in the Mission Impossible franchise. My score for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is a B+. I hope you enjoyed this review, feel free to comment below and share you’re thoughts. Thanks For Reading.

American Psycho Review (2000)

I thought it would be appropriate to make my first review about one of my all time favourite movies, American Psycho. I hope you enjoy this spoiler free review and if you have any thoughts feel free to comment below.

American Psycho gave cinema one of it’s best psychopaths in the form of Patrick Bateman, a well-educated, intelligent man, building upon the fortune he was born with by working on Wall Street but when night falls Patrick’s psychotic, violent nature comes out. Christian Bale turns in possibly the best performance of his career as Bateman, showing great range by going from funny to terrifying to utterly insane, all while remaining believable and captivating. I feel Bale should be given more recognition for his excellent portrayal as Patrick Bateman, as he carries the entire film on his own shoulders, delivering every line of great dialogue he is given, perfectly and always managing to keep the audience’s attention, where other actor may have stumbled. If you’re a fan of psychopaths in movies, such as Norman Bates or Hannibal Lecter, then Bales performance is enough reason to watch this film.

However, Bale’s performance isn’t the only drawn. American Psycho’s story also has a lot to say about the human nature as almost every other character in the film is depicted as unlikable and self-obsessed as a person can possibly be. We see this the most in Patrick friends, co-workers and girlfriend as they all display the uglier sides to human nature, even through small actions. Characters are constantly confusing each other for other people, which happens particularly often to Patrick, and Patrick is often shown plainly stating his psychotic tendencies to others but they either misinterpret him or ignore him. These subtle actions excellently show how these characters are portraying the self-indulgent side to humanity, as a serial killer is able to sit in front of them, admit to his crimes and for them to be none the wiser, only concerned about their own image. I love the way that the film explores this aspect of human nature and it’s fascinating how Patrick tries to fit in by adopting these traits, which evidently plays an important part in the film’s climax.

Overall, American Psycho’s excellent blend of subtle humor, thrilling murder sequences, Bale’s fantastic portrayal of Patrick Bateman and interesting message about greed, self-obession and capitalism make it an absolute must watch for any movie fans of dark crime or serial killers. My score for American Psycho can’t be anything lower than an A. I hope you enjoyed this review for American Psycho, feel free to comment and if you haven’t already go see this movie. Thanks For Reading.

Final Grade: A.

Movie Reviews- and more!

This is my first post, so I’d like to use it to say what my plans are for the future of this blog. As you’ve probably guessed already from my name I hope to use this blog to discuss movies and all things film related. I’m going to be posting a number of movie reviews for films old and new, weigh in on movie news, making top ten lists and more as ideas grow and develop. Feel free to share you opinions on posts and any suggests you may have, or just anything you’d like to say positive or negative. I hope you enjoy the content from this blog and that we can discuss more in comments of each post, Thanks For Reading!