Madison’s Anticipated Films: IF: Directed by John Krasinski, IF is about a girl finding out she can see the imaginary friends of children. In the movie, she adventures to connect old and forgotten IFs with their kids. The movie features several popular actors and actresses, such as Ryan Reynolds (Cal), Emily Blunt (La Licorne), Awkwafina (Octocat), Steve Carell (Blue), Blake Lively (Octopuss), Matt Damon (Sunny), and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Blossom).¹ What’s special about the film is that it’s director, John Krasinski, also wrote and starred in the film! This isn’t super high on my summer list, but it will be a cute movie to see. Inside Out 2: This movie, a highly anticipated sequel, is about Riley, the human, and how her mind is suddenly undergoing renovations. These changes are to make room for new emotions, like Anxiety!² The movie features returning actors Amy Poehler (Joy), Phyllis Smith (Sadness), Lewis Black (Anger), Tony Hale (Fear), Liza Lapira (Disgust), and new actress Maya Hawke (Anxiety). The other new emotions are voiced by Ayo Edebiri (Envy), Adele Exarchopoulos (Ennui), and Paul Walter Hauser (Embarrassment).³ I’m super excited for this film, especially since Inside Out was so easy to connect with and had an amazing plot! Moana 2: “Moana journeys to the far seas of Oceania after receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors.” The movie features Dwayne Johnson (Maui) and Auli’i Cravalho (Moana).⁴ Though there isn’t much information about the film due to its release being later in the year, the trailer teaser produced by Disney is enough to make anyone excited for the film. Despicable Me 4: Gru and Lucy welcome Gru Jr. to their family, and the little baby is insistent on tormenting his father. Their happy life is abruptly interrupted when criminal Maxime Le Mal escapes from prison, and plans to get his revenge against Gru. The movie features returning cast Steve Carell (Gru), Kristen Wiig (Lucy), Miranda Crosgove (Margo), and Dana Gaier (Edith).⁵ Will Ferrell is the voice of Maxime Le Mal, and Madison Polan is set to replace the voice of Agnes. We will also see music, once again, by amazing singer Pharrrell Williams. Wicked: A woman named Elphaba makes friends with Glinda. While Elphaba is talked about for her green skin, Glinda works hard for greater popularity. After meeting the Wizard of Oz, their friendship starts to falter as their lives move off into different paths. The movie stars Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba), Ariana Grande (Glinda), Jeff Goldblum (The Wizard of Oz), Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero Tigelaar), Ethan Slater (Boq), and Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible).⁶ This one’s a very anticipated movie, but unfortunately you’ll have to wait ‘til November to see this film. Logan’s Anticipated Films: The Garfield Movie: Bringing the beloved cartoon character to life is The Garfield Movie, and it’s coming out in just a few days! To be more specific, it’s release date is May 24. The film sees Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt) meet up with his father Vic (voiced by Samuel L Jackson), and the two find themselves involved in a high-stakes heist.⁷ I love the casting and the premise seems super fun. I look forward to finding out what the high-stakes heist in question is. Deadpool & Wolverine: Marvel’s coming out with an interesting crossover this summer, and I’m really looking forward to watching it. It features Deadpool and Wolverine being sent on a mission by the Time Variance Authority, the mysterious organization in the hit Disney+ Series, Loki.⁸ While some of Marvel’s recent movies have been - to be frank - not so good, I’m hoping this will be the start of Marvel making epic movies again. It’s coming out July 26. A Quiet Place Day One: The third installment in the fan-favorite horror series, Day One will be a spinoff rather than a sequel. Taking place before the first film, it features Lupita Nyong’o as a woman named Sam who must face the bloodthirsty aliens in New York City as society crumbles around her.⁹ As a massive fan of A Quiet Place, I look forward to watching Day One and I hope it can meet the bar set by the first two movies. A minor worry I have is that it isn’t directed by John Krasinski. Hopefully Michael Sarnoski does a great job! The film comes out June 28. Twisters: When it was released in 1996, Twister was one of the most successful films of its time. Now, it’s getting a sequel. There’s not much information about the film’s plot, but we do know that Daisy-Edgar Jones, who you might recognized from Where the Crawdads Sing, will be starring in it along with Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos.¹⁰ I love a good disaster movie, so I’ll be eagerly waiting for July 16 when the film comes out, and in the meantime, be watching the original. Joker Folie à Deux: 2019’s Joker film was wildly successful, and this Summer, a sequel is coming out. However, it’ll be a bit different. It’s a musical! It’s definitely an interesting choice, but I’m looking forward to seeing how it’ll play out. Joaquin Phoenix will reprise his role as the titular character and Lady Gaga will play Harley Quinn.¹¹ Not much is known about the film as it's coming out later in the year, October 4, but I’m nonetheless excited for its release.

“Life is suffering. It is hard. The world is cursed. But still, you find reasons to keep living.” Princess Mononoke, Princess Mononoke, 1997¹ Princess Mononoke, by Studio Ghibli, is an incredible movie that covers the plot of sin and the effects of mankind on nature. It’s an exceptionally influential movie, and shows the bad side of deforestation and industrialization. It’s a great movie to watch if you enjoy the style of Studio Ghibli, its music, and the carefully thought up plots it tells. Ashitaka, the main character of the movie, is attacked by a cursed boar god, and it causes an infection to spread in his body. He travels West in hopes to arrive at the forest of the spirits. At a village, he meets the monk Jigo, who helps him towards the mountain where the Spirit of the Forest lives. On his journey, he comes across Princess Mononoke who rides with wolf spirits and she tells him to leave. Later, Ashitaka comes across Lady Eboshi’s Iron Town, where he brought some injured men from the town. Lady Eboshi brings him to her garden, where she admits that she’s creating rifles to attack the Spirit of the Forest. In the village, Mononoke is attacking and trying to get to Eboshi. However, Ashitaka is able to confront her and brings her away, but ends up getting shot. He is saved by the Spirit of the Forest and leaves, but finds that the Iron Town is fighting against enemies while Lady Eboshi is in the forest trying to kill the Spirit. In the forest, Lady Eboshi manages to take off the head of the Spirit and gives it to Jigo. The Nightwalker, the Spirit's other form, takes over; its goal is to roam the Earth until its head can be found. It destroys Iron Town, and continues on to leave destruction in its path. Mononoke is able to give the head of the Spirit back, but unfortunately, time runs out. The Spirit dies and moss and plants grow over the town’s ruins. Lady Eboshi has plans to rebuild the town and this time is more cautious of the need for nature and humanity to live with peace. In the movie, the theme of sin is touched on. Lady Eboshi, the leader of Iron Town, is a wrathful and greedy woman. She recruited brothel women to work for her town, and they represent the sin of Lust. This is because when Ashitaka came to the town the women began to lust after him, and asked him to come with them during the night. Lady Eboshi represents wrath, greed, and betrayal. In wrath, she attacks the spirits of the forest and wants to ruin the land around the town. In greed, she wants to have all the land around them so they can collect iron and sell it for gold and money. In betrayal, she is ruining the land around her, killing animals and spirits, a sin against civilization and the nation. Ashitaka represents a soul that is able to pass Hell and is able to go up to heaven; he is a pure soul. Ashitaka, because he’s pure, ‘tempts’ the others like Lady Eboshi and the women of the town. Another theme that is touched on is the impact of mankind on nature through deforestation and industrialization. Lady Eboshi is greedy and ruins the land around her town for her personal gain. This deforestation ruins the animals and spirits around them, and causes the spirits to want to hurt the town and get rid of the attacking humans, thus introducing nature v. humanity. Humanity and its technological advancements are affecting nature, and thus a war is formed between them. This is shown through the boar tribe, who come to attack the humans. While some are dying, they continue to attack because they would do anything to stop the humans from ruining nature. Because the main objective of the humans is to kill the Spirit of the Forest and take its head, the Boars, the Ape tribe, Mononoke, and her wolves work together to save the forest against them. All of the major topics in this film perfectly describe the effects on wildlife on Earth. The ending gives us the idea that people can change, even if they are believed to be evil. This is an example of Hero’s Journey. Lady Eboshi began as an evil character, ruining the forest and hurting the animals. She was an enemy of Mononoke, who meant to protect the forest. After her arm was cut off by Ashitaka and the Spirit of the Forest destroyed Iron Town, her views on nature and her life of greed and wrath changed. Her goal now is to protect the peace between nature and humanity, and leave the spirits to their ways. Ashitaka, the pure soul between the two fighting groups, sort of represents an actual god and was meant to be the peacemaker between the two groups. He isn’t perfect and good, but he isn’t evil and bad either. This is why Lady Eboshi and Mononoke represent the opposing groups. Both are wrathful, but symbolize two totally different groups. He wants peace between them. This shows us that he was always meant to be the middle, and change the ways of both groups. Princess Mononoke is a beautiful movie, and its plot was easy to follow and connect to real life. If you enjoy movies that reflect the real world and its problems, I definitely recommend this. From its characters to its art to its music, this film is a great watch. I rate this movie a 5/5, and I would definitely want to watch it again. I hope you enjoy this film!

My Rating: 5.5/5 Official Information Release Date: October 20, 2017 Box Office: $31.6 Million Rating: 8.1/10 (IMDb) 94% (RT) Audience: All, Not Rated A Silent Voice is one of the best and most emotional movies I have ever watched, coming from someone who mostly watches action-packed SciFi movies. The film follows a deaf girl and her childhood bully on a mission to make up for his past. It’s a heartwarming film that will make you laugh in some parts and cry in others. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD The film opens with the teenage Shoya Ishida preparing to kill himself, which is rough to watch. We don’t know anything about his character yet, but it’s already heartbreaking. However, the movie jumps back in time to Shoya’s elementary school life. On my first watch, I was a bit confused about the timeline, but I was able to piece together what was going on as the movie progressed. The flashback (which is long, but important) introduces our secondary protagonist, Shoko Nishimya, a deaf girl who gets ruthlessly teased for her disability. A Silent Voice does an excellent job of shifting the audience’s view of Shoya. At first, he seems like a hateable bully, but after the time jump, it’s a complete 360. During the flashback, Shoya torments Shoko without remorse, breaking her hearing aids and teasing her for the way talks. Meanwhile, he deals with being bullied by his group of friends. The saying “hurt people hurt people” is certainly true. As a film that covers a wide period of time in its characters’ lives, A Silent Voice shows us how some people can change for the better, while unfortunately, others don’t. Shoya’s reputation as a bully follows him into high school, despite his growing remorse for his actions. It’s in this part that we understand why he was preparing for suicide in the film’s intro. Thinking death is the only option, he decides to tie off the loose ends in his life before he commits suicide. In A Silent Voice, the characters of both the bully and the bullied are relatable. We’ve all felt remorse for things that are in the past, and Shoya feels like a real person going through real hardships, and not just a one-dimensional bully. His extreme anxiety leads him to feel that everyone at his school is against him, which is represented by Xs appearing over the characters' faces. I thought this was a creative way to visualize the way Shoya feels, and it lets the audience know who Shoya trusts (the people without the Xs). Further into the film, Shoya and Shoko cross paths again, as Shoya tries to make up for his past actions before committing suicide. What he doesn’t know is that Shoko will end up saving him. Shoya apologizes and slowly befriends Shoko. Things seem to be going well for our protagonists as Shoko unknowingly helps Shoya see the good in life, while he helps her reconnect with old acquaintances from elementary school, both friends and bullies. Two minor characters in A Silent Voice, Miyoko and Naoka, are polar opposites. While Miyoko does everything in her power to make Shoko comfortable, even trying to learn sign language, Naoka makes Shoko feel unwelcome, clearly expressing her hate for her. Naoka is a frustrating character that makes the audience truly want her to get out of Shoko’s life. While Naoka was my least favorite character, Shoya’s friend Tomohiro is probably my favorite. He’s a foil of the shy and depressed Shoya: energetic, goofy, and the kind of person you’d want to be friends with in real life. The first half of A Silent Voice does a great job setting up the characters without feeling like it drags. But the real conflict comes in when the utterly, absolutely hateable Naoka goes too far. In one of the most heartbreaking scenes (there are a lot of them), set in a Ferris wheel at the festival, Naoka blames Shoko for Shoya’s troubles, telling Shoko she hates her and even going as far as hitting her across the face. Luckily, Shoko’s protective sister records the encounter, and when the truth gets out, it tears the friend group apart. A Silent Voice is an excellent film for a few reasons, and one of the biggest ones is its portrayal of mental abuse, bullying, and suicide without sugarcoating the problems in society. Nakoa pushes Shoko past her breaking point, and likely without even realizing it, contributes to her suicide attempt during the film’s climax. Shoya returns to Shoko’s apartment to find her seconds away from leaping off the balcony. In an edge-of-your-seat, suspenseful moment, Shoya desperately tries to stop her, barely grabbing her hand in time, but slipping over the railing himself during the process. During the dark few seconds after his fall, I genuinely questioned whether Shoya was going to be killed off. I was truly shocked during this scene and began to tear up a little. Luckily, Shoya survives the fall, and in a twist of fate, is rescued by his bullies. Arriving back to school after his time in the hospital, Shoya receives a warm welcome and begins to see that not everyone is against him. In the finale, Shoya has a new perspective on life, and the Xs over everyone’s faces disappear. I thought that Shoko and Shoya were going to get together in A Silent Voice, but they didn’t, and perhaps that’s for the best. They still have some problems they need to work through, and it’s heartwarming to see their friendship grow. A Silent Voice was worth the watch and is now one of my favorite movies.

“Where’s your home? Don’t you have any friends or family?” says Sen. “ No, no. I’m lonely. I’m lonely.” cries No-Face.¹ Spirited Away, by Studio Ghibli, is an amazingly produced and illustrated film. It explores ideas of sin, maturity, and true love, and is a very beautiful movie. Chihiro, aka Sen, the lovely main character, explores the outside of an abandoned bathhouse when her parents notice the food stalls filled with meat, vegetables, etc. Consumed by greed, they begin eating until they turn into pigs. Scared, Chihiro runs and ends up meeting Haku, who feeds her food from the spirit world so that she doesn’t disappear. She gets a job working for Yubaba, the director, and her name becomes Sen. On the bridge heading to the bathhouse is a spirit named No-Face, who watches her closely. Later, a guest, thought to be a Stink Spirit, shows up and it’s Sen’s job to help clean him. After finding a plug in him, she takes it out and a water spirit comes out. He gives her a ball of an unknown substance and leaves. No-Face finds his way into the bathhouse and begins eating workers who are consumed with greed for the money that he’s giving out. On the other side of the bathhouse, Sen meets Yubaba’s twin who comes after Haku for stealing her golden seal. Haku and Sen fall down a chute to escape, and while in his dragon form, Haku is fed some of the water spirit’s ball by Sen and he returns to normal. Yubaba calls for Sen to clean up the mess with No-Face, and Sen, using the rest of the ball given by the water spirit, feeds it to No-Face and he begins throwing all the food and people up. The two leave for a train that will take them to Yubaba’s twin’s house, in order to return the golden seal that Sen got from Haku. At her house, Sen returns the seal in time, and Haku shows up at her door. They fly back to the bathhouse and as they do, Sen finds out Haku’s actually the spirit of the River, and this breaks his contract with Yubaba. Once they get back, Sen is tested by Yubaba in order to leave. She had to pick out her pig parents from a group of pigs, and Sen knew they weren’t there, so she was able to break her contract. She then left with her parents, leaving behind the spirits. Exploring the first idea of the film: sin. Throughout the film, the sin of greed is shown through Chihiro’s parents and the workers of the bathhouse. In the beginning, when Chihiro’s parents are stuffing their faces full of food, they turn into pigs. This is their fit punishment because similar to pigs, all they did was laze around and eat food, becoming bigger and bigger. The workers of the bathhouse were greedy for the gold that the water spirit and No-Face gave them. Three of the most greedy workers were eaten by No-Face. This was due to their greed and hunger for gold, and in return, they too got eaten. The second idea of the film: maturity. Chihiro, after getting the job with Yubaba, is forced to become mature really fast, skipping past her childhood years. At such a young age, she has a job, is required to communicate with guests who are far bigger than her, and deals with large problems and works to create a solution. She also has to deal with her parents becoming pigs and being hidden from her in the pig pens. All of these big changes made it hard to adjust, but thankfully she was able to become accustomed to life at the bathhouse. The last idea of the film: true love. Most of this film doesn’t revolve around love, yes, but it does serve a minor plot in the movie. Haku, who remembers Chihiro’s name even when it changes to Sen, is her true love in the film. Chihiro follows his instructions, and when told that he is Yubaba’s assistant and may be evil, she still has faith in him because he helped her. When Haku is hurt, Chihiro gives Haku the water spirit’s ball in hopes of saving him. He was only able to return to normal because of Chihiro. Kamaji, the worker who controls the water, says that only true love could break the spell on the golden seal that Haku had stolen. Haku coming to save Chihiro from Yubaba’s twin and bring her back to the bathhouse is also an act of love because he wants her to be able to get her parents back. The final act of love is when Chihiro tells Haku his real name. Chihiro remembers a time when she was younger and the river gave back her shoe. Not with the current or otherwise, but the spirit of the river gave it back. This is why she thinks Haku is the river spirit, and he is. This breaks the spell on Haku. Another point to touch on is the beautiful illustrations and animations in the film. Two of my favorite scenes are the introduction to the bathhouse at night where the lights are bright and shining against the dark background. The second scene is when Haku and Chihiro are running through a flower field and it’s super bright and beautiful. While the two scenes show the contrast between dark and light, good and bad, they are really gorgeous panels of the movie and are definitely a sight to see. I love this film so much and I recommend watching this and any of the Studio Ghibli films. They all have amazing original music, animations, plots, and voices. The unrealistic world in which they are all in makes them amazing to watch. I rate Spirited Away a 5/5 and I definitely suggest that you watch this beautiful film.

“Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all mankind sinned against me.” (Mary Shelley, Frankenstein) Lisa Frankenstein is an amazing movie, and this quote really details how Lisa felt all her life. Lisa, the main character of this film, had a good life before the murder of her mother. After this event, Lisa moved in with her friend Taffy and her family and while Taffy meant the best for her, her family, and even the people at school treated her like an outsider. Lisa visited an old graveyard near her home, and sat by Frankenstein’s grave, which gave her comfort. That’s why, when he came to life, Lisa felt so comfortable and happy. Lisa’s mother had recently been murdered and Lisa was sent to live with her friend Taffy’s family. Taffy’s mother didn’t really like her, and it was shown through her behavior. Before a party Taffy invited Lisa to, shown is how Lisa used to go to a graveyard and sit by the grave of Frankenstein. At the party, Lisa gets drugged and is harassed by her lab partner Doug. That night, Frankenstein comes out of his grave. He goes to her house and has an altercation with her before Lisa figures out who he is. Lisa works to get him to look normal. One day, Janet, Taffy’s mother, is arguing with Lisa in front of her closet before Frankenstein comes out and stabs Janet with a sewing needle and cuts her ear off. Throughout the movie, he does this a few more times, because the cut off parts are able to provide him with his own body parts. Lisa is able to sew these onto him to make him more human. Another plot throughout the film is Lisa’s fascination with a boy named Michael. Lisa had a crush on him but found out Taffy had been sleeping with him after Lisa went to his house in hopes of sleeping with him as well. While arguing with the two, Frankenstein came in and cut off Michael’s private parts. He did this purposefully because he was falling in love with Lisa and wanted to be with her. In the end, after falling in love and getting married, Lisa told Frankenstein to kill her by putting Taffy’s faulty tanning bed on high to electrocute her. While many believe she’s dead, Lisa is still alive in the arms of Frankenstein. Frankenstein coming to life was a very positive change for Lisa. Before him, Lisa was very much overshadowed by Taffy. Taffy was a cheerleader, she had boyfriends, had won many awards, and was overall more liked than Lisa. To me, I viewed Lisa as the known burden for Taffy’s family, with many at school and at home not caring for her. After her mother’s murder, everyone didn’t really care for her and wanted to move on. This really affected Lisa because she felt left behind and ignored. After Frankenstein, he introduced her to new styles, which we see her as more comfortable in and more confident. He showed Lisa ways to ignore and get rid of the people who didn’t like her or took her for granted. He showed her real love and burdensome affection. She felt like she fit in. This is why we see the love between the two as very devoted and real. Another plot point I’d like to go down is how used Lisa is by her friends and classmates. After Lisa was drugged, and Doug was ‘helping’ her, he still tried to force Lisa to sleep with him just because she wasn’t fully conscious. Doug was the very visual of what you think of when you say nerdy. Glasses, out-of-trend clothes, etc. Even though he wasn’t a popular kid or someone most people would think of, he still took advantage of her. Lisa got her revenge in the end, killing Doug and cutting off his hand for Frankenstein. Another person who used Lisa was Michael. Lisa grew to have a crush on Michael after they met at the party and he treated her like he liked her. He spoke with her at school and at Lisa’s place of work, and really seemed like a nice boy. Unfortunately, he was only using Lisa to get to her friend Taffy. Taffy seemed unbothered by the fact that Lisa was angry with her. In fact, Taffy tried to victimize herself by saying boys only liked her for her body. What the heck, Taffy!?! Continuously throughout the movie, Taffy makes herself out as a victim and it’s really annoying! Anywho, since Frankenstein had major feelings for Lisa at this point and was angry Lisa wanted to sleep with Michael, he came into the house and cut off Michael’s privates. Great job Frankenstein! Revenge for both Lisa and the viewers. This was also a way for Lisa to get back at Taffy because she feared Lisa so much after this. Finally, I want to talk about the relationship between Lisa and Frankenstein. Lisa was alone and spent time at Frankenstein’s grave. I think that after he came alive, he consciously knew about Lisa and went to find her, which began their actual relationship. After he first killed Janet, Lisa grew a big liking for him, because he did something for her, which she never had done before. And since Lisa knew that he didn’t want to use her and instead do something for her, she was able to get revenge on Doug. They continued their adventures, and near the end where we know for sure that Frankenstein and Lisa are sharing feelings, he kills Michael because he both hurt Lisa and was the man she liked. (Possessiveness at its finest) He purposely took Michael’s privates so he could make love to Lisa, and finally he killed her so that she and him could live together forever. This movie is so amazing and I’m so glad I got a chance to watch it. I rate it a 5/5 and completely recommend that you watch it. If you like minor horror with romance, definitely watch because you will not be disappointed!

My Rating: 5/5 Official Information: Release Date: March 1, 2024 Box Office: $626.21 Million Rating: 8.8/10 (IMDb) 93% (RT) Audience: Teens and Adults, Rated PG-13 for violence Cast: Timothee Chalamet (Paul Atreides) Rebecca Ferguson (Jessica Atreides) Zendaya (Chani) Christopher Walken (The Emperor) Stellan Skasgard (Baron Vladimir Harkonnen) Austin Butler (Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen) Florence Pugh (Princess Irulan) Josh Brolin (Gurney) Dune: Part Two is an incredible sequel that improves on the original in almost every way, with more action, more romance, and more characters. Despite having a runtime nearing 3 hours, it doesn’t drag. Adapting the second half of the Dune novel, it sees Paul Atreides living among the native Fremen and fighting with them against the Harkonnen family. Dune: Part Two is breaking box office records, and if you give it a watch, it isn’t hard to see why. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. Dune: Part Two is an awesome experience on the big screen. Hearing the excellently composed soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and the massive explosions through the theater’s surround-sound is unforgettable. The sequel to the 2021 film, Dune: Part One, expands the story’s scope greatly. It introduces Christopher Walken as The Emperor, along with Florence Pugh, as his daughter, Irulan. Both are great actors, making the new subplot one of the most enjoyable in the story. The film opens with the princess speculating that Paul Atreides is still alive, setting up the involvement of the empire in the story (it’ll be important later!) Next, we jump back to the (supposedly) last remaining members of House Atreides. It’s not long until we jump into the action ( in contrast to the exposition-heavy Part 1). Of all the characters, Paul Atreides has changed the most from the first film. We see him fighting alongside the Fremen, completely devoted to the idea of actually becoming Fremen. We see him and Chani (played by Zendaya), destroy the spice harvesters his own family was operating not so long ago. The most interesting character in my opinion, however, is Lady Jessica. Played by the amazing Rebecca Ferguson (who you’ve probably recognized from the Mission: Impossible films), Jessica’s personality is made pretty clear by the beginning of the film. While Paul is eager to attack the Harkonnens, she seems reluctant to get revenge. However, she is confident Paul is the prophesied Messiah and would do anything to protect her son (who I recently learned is only 15 in the story, despite Timothee Chalamet currently being 28). But when Jessica drinks the sandworm poison, everything changes. She finds herself initiated as a “Reverend Mother” and is determined to do anything to prove that her son truly is the Messiah. She goes from a soft-spoken mother to a terrifyingly ambitious woman (all while pregnant, too). Meanwhile, Paul lives among the Fremen, not as a leader, but as a native. He falls in love with Chani, learns the Fremen language, masters the sandwalk, and eventually learns to ride the desert’s massive sandword, which is probably one of the most awesome moments in all of cinema! However, it’s not all fun and games for the Atreides and the Fremen. Baron Harkonnen replaces his nephew (played by David Bautista) with another heir, Feyd-Rautha (played by Austin Butler), a sociopathic killer. Meanwhile, back on Arrakis, Jessica and Paul part ways. Jessica travels to the South of Arrakis to convert the rest of the Fremen into believing in her son, while Paul stays in the North, believing that his involvement will cause a destructive war after receiving a vision. It’s at this point of the film where Gurney is revealed to have survived the attack in the previous film. Josh Brolin is a great actor and I was happy to see him rejoin the cast. In addition, his connections with Paul’s late father come to be incredibly valuable as he leads Paul to his family’s stockpile of nuclear weapons, a turning point in the fight against the Harkonnens. A big part of Dune deals with prophecy. As made clear in the first film, the Bene Gesserit (the religious league Jessica belongs to) has been manipulating politics for centuries, attempting to produce a Messiah. However, Chani has an interesting suspicion: The prophecy isn’t religious, and the fact that it’s being “fulfilled” is because of the Bene Gesserit’s manipulation. It’s not exactly confirmed whether or not there’s a divine presence, but I found the idea of a fabricated prophecy intriguing, and really demonstrates just how powerful the Bene Gesserit are, and how powerful religion can be in the real world. Partially because of her devotion to her religion, and probably due in large to the effects of the poison, Lady Jessica manipulates Paul into drinking the worm’s poison. After a near-death experience, Paul finds himself “enlightened”, seeing visions of the past and future, and revealing the ultimate twist: Lady Jessica is the daughter of Baron Harkonnen. I did not see this coming, and it added even more tension as the film leads up to an ultimate showdown. The finale of Dune: Part Two ties together the various plot lines beautifully, and it’s insanely action-packed too. After recovering from the poison, Paul declares himself Messiah, and thousands of Fremen unsheath their sacred knives. The film doesn’t make this clear, but in the books, the knives cannot be re-sheathed until the owner has killed someone with it, making this moment extremely powerful. The entire planet of Arakkis has vowed to spill Harkonnen blood or die trying. In the last Act, the Harkonnens are defeated. I was expecting Paul to eliminate the empire in the finale, but instead, he pulled a wild move: Take over the empire instead. Irulan gives her hand in marriage in exchange for her father’s life, making Paul Atreides the heir to the known universe. The film ends pretty suddenly, with the rest of the royal houses arriving on Arrakis as the Holy War begins. Overall, I LOVED Dune: Part Two. It was the perfect sequel, and gave us some great moments with great payoff, while still leaving room for a third installment. The cast was great, especially Rebecca Ferguson in my opinion, and the action sequences were thrilling. Overall, 5/5!

Released on March 8, 2024, the anticipated fourth movie in the Kung Fu Panda franchise was put out for the public to see. In my eyes, there wasn’t too much marketing for the movie: both in advertisements online or on posters, as well in commercials, but perhaps I’ve been off of cable and not outside too much. I am not the biggest fan of the movie series; it has been a while since I’ve seen the original films, but I was excited to see it. Entering the theater, my family and I went to grab some popcorn and a drink, and headed to the screening room. We went through the immense amount of ads before the movie, and finally, the highly anticipated film began. After Kung Fu Panda 3, Po earned the Staff of Wisdom from Oogway in the Spirit Realm. In the 4th movie, we learn it can call the spirit world and bring spirits to the present. Po is still a super celebrity in his home village and helps out his dads at their restaurant. While helping them, Master Shifu presents Po with a decision. Po needs to pick his successor for the role of Dragon Warrior now that Po controls the Staff of Wisdom. Po is reluctant to give up his position as he enjoys the role and the immense popularity it gives him. While thinking about what he wants to do, Po hears a commotion in the Jade Palace, where many artifacts are held. A very skilled thief was going around stealing the objects, and Po planned to stop them. They almost got away with stealing the artifacts and the Staff of Wisdom, but Po stopped them. After putting the thief in jail, scared citizens came to him, begging him to help as one of the previous villains, Tai Lung, was seen. The prisoner, named Zhen, actually knows what happened. The Chameleon, a skilled shape-shifter, disguised itself as Tai Lung and scared the Valley of Peace. With the help of Zhen, she and Po left to find the Chameleon. After getting into a fight before being able to enter the city where the villain lies, Po and Zhen are able to catch a boat to the populous Juniper City. After moving through the city, Po finds out that Zhen is a wanted criminal, and after getting into a brawl with the police, Zhen brings the two down a tunnel to the undergrounds of the city, where many thieves lie. They stay there until it’s safe to go out. Back in the Valley of Peace, Po’s fathers are scared for him, and decide to leave in the night to look after their boy. Back in Juniper city, Po and Zhen make it to the palace, but not before Zhen reveals herself as a traitor. She brings the Staff of Wisdom to the Chameleon, who plans to use the staff to call upon the Kung Fu masters in the Spirit World and steal their skills. This would create the ultimate enemy for Po. Still feeling defeated after Zhen’s betrayal, Po intends to leave, but not after encountering his fathers, who want him to go ahead and fight for the staff. Zhen regrets her ways and comes back to Po, hoping to be forgiven. After allowing her to help, Po and Zhen go to the undergrounds and use the thieves to help get into the palace. They defeat all the guards, and after a huge fight where the heroes win. Po decides that Zhen should be his successor and train to become the Dragon Warrior. This movie had amazing comedy and used music well to show suspense through parts of the film. After Jack Black’s amazing song “Peaches” in the Super Mario movie, Jack Black stunned me again with his rendition of “Baby One More Time,” by Britney Spears. Through the credits and Jack’s amazing song we see the training Zhen and Po are going through in order to be ready for their new positions. Some other aspects of the film that are my favorite are most of the scenes with Po’s dads. While they didn’t have much screen time, they did make me laugh most of the time they were on. Maybe it’s just my humor, but lots of things make me laugh, and their comedy was super funny. Even if it’s a children’s movie, most include some more mature jokes and being able to understand them makes it even funnier. I think the plot of the movie was also super well written. Of course, it includes your classic villain, like in all the movies. But there were many super good plot points in this film. One such was the amazing plot twist where we learn Zhen was actually working for the Chameleon the whole time. I think it was really well put in, as I think everyone believed Zhen was being a helpful character. Another point in the movie is that we always root for Po. Whenever he’s put in a tough situation, such as when he was originally fighting Zhen or when he was fighting the Chameleon, the writers make it super easy to make the viewers want Po to win. Kung Fu Panda 4 is definitely a 5/5 in my opinion. It has amazing comedy, great voice actors (love you Jack Black!), and I love the music used. The music created an amazing ambience during many scenes and made the film super enjoyable. It’s an excellent movie, and I definitely recommend everyone watch it, even if you haven’t watched the previous movies.

My Rating: 5/5 Official Info. Release Date: April 30, 2021 Box Office: n/a (streaming) Rating: 97% (RT) 7.6/10 (IMDb) Intended Audience: Family, rated PG Cast: Michael Rianda (Aaron, voice) Abbi Jacobson (Katie, voice) Danny McBride (Rick, voice) Maya Rudolph (Linda, Voice) The Mitchells vs. The Machines is a surprisingly deep family film that will entertain audiences of all ages while exposing some of the flaws in our society, particularly the dangers of technology and our over-reliance on it. It follows a dysfunctional family through an apocalypse as they find they are the last humans who haven’t been captured by robots. What immediately stands out about the film is its animation style. It features an almost watercolor-like aesthetic and looks similar to Sony’s Spiderverse movies. WARNING: SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT The Mitchells vs. The Machines jumps right into the action with a flash-forward. We get a glimpse of the chaotic moment a family takes out a group of robots with their old station wagon before the film cuts back to a few days prior. We get to see into the lives of the Mitchell family, back at home in Michigan. Katie is a tech-savvy amateur filmmaker, while her father, Rick, is the complete opposite, technophobic and frustrated with his family’s use of electronics. Tension grows between Katie and her father, ultimately leading to her decision to leave for college. The only problem is that Rick cancels her plane ticket instead of a road trip. Even worse, it’s the same day the robots take over the world. The Mitchells vs. The Machines asks: What if - by some stroke of luck - a completely dysfunctional family ends up as the last people on earth? Could they save the world? Most movies put the best-prepared heroes up against the villain, but The Mitchells vs. The Machines isn’t most movies. It’s a brilliant but also action-packed and fast-paced film, which is hard to pull off. We witness tech millionaire Mark Bowman introduce the world to a new generation of his virtual assistant PAL, declaring the old version of PAL obsolete, much to the assistant’s dismay. The film is set in a more advanced version of the present. Today, we have assistants like Bard and ChatGPT that arose since the movie’s release date. The idea of an ultra-powerful virtual assistant seems even more plausible now than when this movie came out in 2021. While virtual assistants are highly impressive, The Mitchells vs. The Machines raises valid concerns.

“I am well enough acquainted with you, Miss Elizabeth, to know that I can not alarm you, even should I wish it.”¹ Pride and Prejudice is one of the most popular classic romance novels, and for good reason. It introduces a strangers to lovers relationship that uses the older ways of becoming acquainted with one another to create amazing suspense. Some other exciting aspects of the movie are the side relationships created in the background in the movie. Aside from the main relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, her sister Jane begins a relationship with Mr. Bingley, and Elizabeth’s friend Charlotte gets with Mr. Collins. Though these relationships are the better ones, Elizabeth’s other sister Lydia gets married to Mr. Wickham (who we don’t like). Starting on the entire relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. In the beginning, the two are introduced at a ball and you can start to see a little bit of romance blooming between the two, mostly on Mr. Darcy’s side. He is seen looking over at Elizabeth through the crowd at her dancing. Later, after Jane becomes sick at Mr. Bingley’s home, Elizabeth comes to see her and meets Mr. Darcy before going off to see her sick sibling. The interaction between the two is one to note because Mr. Darcy’s response to Elizabeth is very attentive. He immediately greets her when she comes in and answers her questions quickly to make sure she gets the information she needs. A small detail that can also be noted in a later interaction while Elizabeth is still at the home is Mr. Darcy’s avoidance of her gaze. It makes it seem as though he is falling much harder in love and doesn’t want to look at her with the fear that he may feel a little embarrassed or red-faced. After the marriage of Charlotte Lucas and Mr. Collins, Elizabeth goes to visit their home out in the country. The group is invited to Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s mansion, and there Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy meet again. As the group is sitting and interacting, Elizabeth is playing the piano and Darcy is speaking with her. The interaction creates more of a boundary between them because Elizabeth reacts with more anger and pettiness in her voice. The next day, they all visit a Church where Mr. Collins is speaking from the Bible. Elizabeth is speaking with Darcy’s friend Colonel Fitzwilliam where she learns Darcy declined the relationship between Jane and Bingley. At this point, Elizabeth is very angry with Darcy and runs out in the rain to an old building. There, an argument ensues between the two, where Darcy admits his love for Elizabeth but she denies it and Darcy leaves also angry. From thereon, Elizabeth realizes her love for Darcy and Darcy continues to have feelings for her but wants her to realize it too. Much later, Elizabeth speaks with Lady Catherine (who is Darcy’s aunt) and it results in an angry Catherine and frustrated Elizabeth. The next morning, Elizabeth goes out to the fields where she sees Darcy coming towards her. This is the realization between the two that they both love each other. Now let’s talk about the side relationships. Starting with Jane and Mr. Bingley, theirs was the most special relationship of the novel. Starting from when they met, you could instantly tell that they were meant to be. Jane was constantly watching and paying attention to Bingley, and him the same to her. Seeing their relationship and interactions was very sweet and though they had a break (due to Darcy), they did end up together and I’m glad they did. Next is Charlotte and Mr. Collins. Just by viewing the movie, one may think there was a large age gap, but actually there wasn’t! “Charlotte is 27 years old at the beginning of the novel and was headed toward spinsterhood before marrying Mr. Collins.”² “Mr William Collins, 25 years old as the novel begins, is Mr Bennet's distant cousin, a clergyman, and the heir presumptive to Mr Bennet's estate of Longbourn.”³ So in reality, Collins is actually younger than Charlotte. (There have been many movies and shows so this may not be the most accurate age but for the sake of this article, we will use it) Even though there isn’t a large age gap, the two do come from very different backgrounds. Charlotte comes from a poorer family and hasn’t had much luck in life. Mr. Collins, however, is sponsored by Lady Catherine and has a nice life, with a home, job, etc. I am happy for Charlotte, however, I do wish she had found someone that she may have actually loved rather than marrying so that she may have a chance at life. The final, and unfortunate relationship, is between Lydia and Mr. Wickham. This relationship actually has an age gap, with Mr. Wickham being around 27-29 years old, and Lydia being 15. During the movie, Lydia was definitely an adventurer, wanting to go out all the time and wanting to live the good life, but being stuck at home didn’t help. So, she decided to run away and marry Wickham (who we don’t like because he was mean to Darcy). All in all, Pride and Prejudice is such a classic movie that I definitely recommend. It’s such a great film to watch if you like seeing two quiet characters find love with all the suspense. If you decide to get into the movie, I definitely encourage you to watch the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice, as well as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, two of my favorite adaptations. Definitely a 10/10 movie!!

My Rating: 4.5/5 Official Information: Release Date: August 13, 2010 Box Office: $49.3 Million ¹ Rating: 7.6/10 (IMDb)¹ 82% (RT)² Audience: Teens and Adults, Rated PG-13 for ¹ Cast: Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim) Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Ramona Flowers) Ellen Wong (Knives Chau) Kieran Culkin (Wallace Wells) Aubrey Plaza (Julie Powers) Brie Larson (Envy Adams)¹ Scott Pilgrim vs The World is a fun, action packed film that follows the bass player of an unsuccessful garage band. He’s never had any problem finding a girlfriend before, but after meeting the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers, he must defeat her seven super powered evil exes in order to date her. The movie’s video-game like style and unique cinematography make for a fun experience, and really help the audience get inside Scott Pilgrim’s head. While it’s not a perfect movie, it’s certainly a creative and enjoyable one, making it surprising that it was a box office flop. However, in the past decade, it’s gained a cult following and received highly favorable reviews. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD As the title suggests, the star of Scott Pilgrim vs The World is Scott Pilgrim. Except, Scott isn’t really a star. He’s the bassist in an indie rock band that’s desperate to sign a record deal, but can’t seem to achieve anything more than local fame. However, once he meets Ramona, getting that record deal is now the least of his worries. But the problem is his girlfriend, Knives Chau. Knives is Scott’s sweet, excitable girlfriend, obsessed with his band, but mostly obsessed with him. The issue? She’s still in high school, much to his sister, Stacey, and his fellow band member’s disapproval. The other issue, Scott is slowly losing interest in her and falling in love with Ramona. The story of someone ditching their girlfriend for a love at first sight isn’t exactly the best message, but it pushes the story forward, and as Scott comes to sympathize with Knives, he’s not really a total jerk. Scott Pilgrim vs The World features an ensemble cast. Scott and Ramona might be the main characters, but fellow band members Kim, Neil, and Stephen, along with his sister Stacey, roommate Wallace, and especially Knives add life to the film. None of the characters seem too similar and everyone has an important role in the story. While the ensemble of protagonists is great, it’s Ramona’s 7 evil exes that truly make the movie great. They each have different powers and push Scott to his limit. The fight scenes are excellently choreographed, and the CGI is pretty much flawless. Ramona’s first ex, Matthew Patel, takes Scott by surprise. Despite being evil, he at least had the courtesy to send a warning email, but Scott, distracted and dazzled by Ramona, ignores it. Interrupting a “battle of the bands” sponsored by the record executive Gideon Graves, Patel attacks Scott. In the first battle, we get to see the characters' powers in action for the first time. You might expect this to be a movie about fist-fights, but the film’s unique style takes the fight scenes to the next level. Scott attacks Patel until he’s defeated, and Patel bursts into coins, gaining Scott points. Each of the battles Scott fights are unique, and while the idea of fighting to the death seems awfully dark for a comedy, the movie’s video game style makes it hilarious and less violent. Next up is Hollywood star and skateboarder, Lucas Lee. His massive ego is his downfall as Scott tricks him into attempting an ultimately fatal skateboard trick. Next, Scott has a brief skirmish with Roxie, a Ninja seeking revenge against Ramona for ditching her for a guy. However, his next fight is with Todd, a super-powered vegan and bassist in a band led by Scott’s own ex, Envy Adams. Brie Larson’s role as Envy is small, but I appreciated the cameo. Making it even better is the fact that Larson herself sang the rendition of “Black Sheep” by Metric in the scene right before Scott and Todd's fight. Once Scott is victorious against Todd, he’s up against Roxie next. The fight against Roxie marks the midpoint of the film, and a turning point in Ramona and Scott’s relationship. While Ramona and Scott are able to win their fight, he confronts her about her dating history, leading Ramona to initiate a break up. Scott has almost defeated all 7 exes, but will it all be for nothing? It’s around this point where the pace begins to slow down. Scott and Ramona’s relationship is struggling, but he’s still determined to defeat her 5th and 6th evil exes, the musical duo Ken and Kyle Katyanagi. It’s not long before the pace picks back up, as Scott defeats the Katyanagi at an epic battle of the bands, earning him an extra life. Despite Scott’s impressive feat, Ramona gets back with her final ex, Gideon. The final fight is exciting. Seeking revenge against Ramona, Knives join the fight. While Scott is ultimately defeated at first, he uses his extra life to come back. This time, he fights for himself, not Ramona. Seeing Scott learn that his happiness shouldn’t rely on having a girlfriend demonstrates his character growth and is ultimately highly satisfying. Scott, Ramona, and Knives defeat the evil Gideon, and we get to see a well-deserved happy ending. It’s kind of confusing why Ramona chooses to be with Gideon, but Scott’s final fight turns the stakes up a notch when it’s revealed that Ramona has a mind-control device implanted by Gideon. It explains her choice to ditch Scott, but the plot point wasn’t fully fleshed out, making it seem more like a convenient plot point than a genuine story line. The same can be said about Scott’s resurrection. While it follows the video game theme of the film, it kind of seems like a cheat. However, considering how great the movie is overall, it’s easily forgivable. Overall, Scott Pilgrim vs The World is a great film. Its video-game-like style is creative and the characters are lifelike, making it a must-watch that holds up 14 years later.

Cats. What can I say about Cats? It’s definitely an experience. The movie cost $95 million to produce, but unfortunately only made $74.6 million dollars in the box office. I’d consider it a two hour waste of my time. I mean, it did star some pretty cool actors and actresses! Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, Idris Elba, James Corden, Francesca Hayward, Jennifer Hudson, and Rebel Wilson appeared in the movie. Other than the excitement of seeing some pretty cool actors and listening to some of the songs, this movie wasn’t interesting at all. Cats is about “A tribe of cats compete during the annual Jellicle Ball, where one lucky feline will be chosen to ascend to the Heaviside Layer and be granted a new life."¹ Now, just thinking about the plot, it’s a simple idea, but also really isn’t too interesting. In terms of how this point was displayed in the movie, the movie sort of explained it. However, due to the musical aspect of the movie, it wasn’t explained well enough. The movie just mostly focuses on the singing abilities of the characters. In my opinion, this movie was a 3/5. I can argue that it could be a 2/5, but I do have my reasons as to why it deserves the extra point. In my watching experience, I was able to understand the plot and the goal of the movie. I understood who the enemy was, I understood the different characters and their placement in the movie. The only reason I deducted 2 points was the HORRIBLE CGI and minor plot. With the CGI, seeing a human body and face with the texture of a cat is only what one would see in their nightmares. Even writing this now, I can visualize the characters and how uncomfortable their looks are. Let’s talk about what I did enjoy about the movie: Songs and Plot! Now, the plot of the movie is simple and definitely a less creative idea, however it was interesting to see on screen. The ‘enemy,’ Macavity, has recruited different cats under him to help secure his spot as the cat who will earn a new life. During a scene, Taylor Swift’s character Bombalurina sings a song called “Macavity.” The song had a catchy tune and it’s easy to memorize the lyrics. During her performance of the song, she and two other Macavity recruits, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, sprinkle Catnip on the other cats to calm them and put them to sleep. Her song talks about how he’s gotten away with his crimes, how admired he is, and other things. This is my favorite song from the movie with Swift’s voice as well as the rhythm of the song making it a very catchy tune. Some other favorite songs of mine are: “Old Deuteronomy” (which is a smooth and simple song with a great message, and the choir coming together to produce a beautiful song), Gus the Theatre Cat (Its jazz and more spoken lines make it a very understandable song and gets your attention with the story the singer is telling), “The Ad-dressing of the Cats” (Judi Dench’s voice as well as the choir add such an amazing tune and make the song so easy to listen to and the end of the song with the increase in volume from the quieter beginning make it such a pleasing song), “Mr. Mistoffelees” (With the context of the scene, the nervousness of the singer’s voice and the increase in confidence throughout the song is really enjoyable). While movies and tv shows often make it obvious that a protagonist will end up winning or be chosen for something in the future, this movie makes it blatantly obvious. Throughout the film, the main character meets a bunch of the cats competing for a new life. She meets one, Grizabella, who seems to have gone through a lot. In the movie, she is depicted with a very somber mood and her song “Memory” shows this. Though I am glad she was chosen, I wish it was more of a mystery as to who would be chosen. They made her past so sad and melancholy, it was an easy decision to pick her. In short, the movie was fine, not a terribly exciting thing to watch. The plot was scrambled throughout the movie and the CGI of each character made it a less enjoyable film. However, in my case, the plot was easy to understand and the songs were enjoyable. Seeing many celebrities and other popular actors was a great addition to the movie. No matter how bad the movie was, the actors and actresses will always have a great role to look back on and say, ‘Why did I do this?’ and laugh. If you aren’t a musical fan, I definitely don’t recommend this movie, however if you are, I definitely think some of these songs are fun to listen to.

“According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees don't care what humans think is impossible.”¹ The Bee Movie is one of the funniest and most intriguing movies I’ve ever watched. Though it may be aimed towards a younger audience, the plot and multiple uses of adult humor makes this movie so enjoyable. Of course, with its fair share of concerning but amusing side plots and scenes, The Bee Movie is such a great watch and if you haven’t watched it, I completely recommend that you do. This movie contains a super interesting cast, with its main character Barry Benson being voiced by Jerry Seinfield. Some other characters such as Vanessa Bloome (played by Renee Zellweger), Ken (played by Patrick Warburton), and Mooseblood (played by Chris Rock) are featured in this movie. Some celebrity characters, like Ray Liotta (played by himself), Larry King as Bee Larry King, and Sting as himself appear in this movie. The movie contains memorable characters and cast, making the film completely unforgettable. Leaning on the jazziest of quotes, Barry B. Benson highly recommends you watch his action-packed comedic movie, starring himself. After reading the review, head to your screens and watch the Bee Movie right now! The movie begins with the narrator stating that a bee shouldn’t fly, but of course, they do. We are introduced to Barry Benson, who is getting ready for his graduation. As he puts on his shirt and other morning to-dos, we are shown Barry’s best friend Adam Flayman. They are both graduating from school and have to choose the jobs that they plan to do until they die. While Adam quickly decides on one of the jobs, Barry has trouble believing that they’ll only be doing one job until he dies. They fly around the hive until we are shown the Pollen Jocks, the bees that go out to collect pollen to produce honey. Some of the Jocks come up to Barry and invite him to go out on their next flight. As he explores the flower fields, he accidentally ends up in a tennis court and gets attached to a tennis ball. Here we are introduced to the two people playing tennis, Vanessa and Ken. After getting out of his sticky situation, he flies off until it starts raining and lands in an apartment. The apartment coincidentally belongs to Vanessa and Ken, and through a small conflict, Vanessa saves Barry. The next morning, after staying in the apartment, Barry flies into Vanessa’s kitchen and startles her with the infamous quote, “‘Ya like jazz?”¹ One of the most important rules of a bee is not to talk to humans, and he just broke it. This starts a relationship between the two, with them quickly becoming friends. Barry then goes back home to the hive and he tells Adam that he met a girl and Adam gets angry that he’s hanging with humans. Later, he’s swimming in a pool of honey when his parents come down and start berating him for his ‘relationship.’ Barry starts floating down into the pool where we see a dream of his. He and Vanessa are having a picnic, and afterwards they go out flying where Vanessa is in a small airplane, but ends up crashing. This wakes Barry up. The next day, Vanessa and Barry head to a supermarket, where Barry realizes that humans have been stealing honey from bees. In a little spat, Barry ends up fighting one of the workers and Barry forces him to tell where they’ve been getting the honey. Barry heads to the location and finds out how mistreated some hives have been and that they use a smoker to deplete the bees’ energy. In a news report by Bob Bumble, it’s reported that Barry intends to sue the human race for rights to the honey that the humans have been taking. Along with the help of Vanessa, Barry goes to trial against Layton Montgomery, representative for five honey industries. As the trial goes on, honey figures like Sting, Ray Liota, and Klauss Vanderhayden are put on the stand. While the bees have trouble getting the jury on their side, Montgomery ends up making Adam very angry, causing Adam to sting the rep. Adam ends up in the hospital and due to some cigarette smoke being blown through the hospital window, Barry has a realization. Barry, as evidence, provides the smoker, and shows its uses and effects. This helps him to win the trial, forcing the companies to give honey back to the bees. Unfortunately, this turns out for the worst when the no longer pollinating bees leave the plants, flowers, and others to die. The last flowers in the U.S. are going on a flower parade, the very last one. So, Barry and Vanessa head to the show, steal a parade float covered in flowers, and try to fly back to New York. Due to an issue with the pilot and co-pilot, Barry is left to help Vanessa fly the plane and with the help of the other bees, they land the plane and get back to pollinating the plants. While this movie has a ton of twists and turns, it shows the important need for bees and other pollinators. If we don’t have bees and other pollinators, then we won't have the plants that provide oxygen and take in carbon dioxide. While bees may be scary, they are essential to the survival of our planet and humankind. This movie, along with its comedic aims, does have some good themes: Gratitude, Friendship, and Maintaining the Balance of Nature. The themes of the movie are also important in real life. It's important to be thankful for what you have. It’s important to make friends and create relationships. Finally, it’s important to aim for the conservation of our planet Earth. This movie is completely a 10/10 and if you haven’t watched it, what are you doing? Get over to your phone, computer, or tv and watch the movie! The excitement, comedy, themes, and plots will make this such a fun watch. It’s so memorable and will definitely make you want to go back and watch it again.