What men want

 What men want is a comedy inspired by Nancy Meyers What Women Want.  The storyline is about Ali Davis (Taraji. P.  Henson)  a female sports agent who feels she is being overlooked by her male colleagues at work.  After being passed down for a promotion she is convinced that she does not know what men want.
    Ali seeks the help of her girlfriends/bestfriends. Who take her to see a phsychic. Ali was given a psychedelic tea containing marijuana and ecstacy.  After she drank the tea,  Ali and her friends went out for a drink and she hits her head hard which gave her the ability to hear men's private thoughts. Ali hopes to use her new power to sign hot new NBA Draft pick Jamal Marry (Shane Paul McGhie)  and secure the partnership that belongs to her.  But can she really figure out what men want?
 

   This movie is all about female power in a society dominated by men.  The characters drink,  the main character is served a tea with drughs in it.  There is a scene where a doctor uses cocaine at work but he is clean at the end of the movie. There are sex scenes but no explicit nudity. Characters have supportive relationships including a good parent and child relationship.  The themes present in this movie are communication and empathy.
This movie is meets the expectations of the viewers with Henson's  impressive character.  First she learns how to balance her power at work then she expresses her love to her best friends and to will (Aldis Hodge) whom she wants to build a romantic relationship with. The high point of this movie is watching a smart and confident woman in her 40s dominate her career and becomes all that she wants. Ali Davis is a character that most women can relate to.

What men want was directed by Adam shankman and was released Febuary 8, 2019. It is rated R for language and sexual content through out and some drug material.it runs for 117 minutes.

Beautiful Boy.

This is a movie based on a true life story of David and Nicholas Sheff.  Beautiful Boy renacts the story of a young teen who deals with substance abuse and his family tries to save him.  Nicholas (Timothee Chalamet) a troubled teen turned to drugs to feel better and he became addicted to multiple drugs including crystal meth.  He felt that he let his family down but they just wanted to help him better.  Nicholas's family especially his father David (Steve Carrel)  who used to be close to his son but the drugs made Nicholas push everyone away.
 

   Nicholas  went to rehab a couple of times but he kept relapsing and going back to drugs.  His family did not give up on him and they kept trying to help him till they realized that no one can help Nicholas unless he helps himself by choosing to say no to drugs.

   Beautiful Boy is very intense and touching.  It shows how family with victims of substance  abuse deal with them. This movie was expertly acted and it gets it anti-drug message across to its viewers.
  In this movie, expect scenes of Nicholas stealing /popping pills,  preparing drugs witness a spoon and a lighter,  driving under the influence e. t. c.  Characters shout and argue with each other. There is use of strong language.  Two characters nearly die from drug overdose at different times. A scene shows two teens having sex in the shower,  they kiss and moan but there is no explicit nudity.

 
     Beautiful Boy is based on the best selling autobiography by both David and Nicholas Sheff.  It is rated R for drug content through out, language and brief sexual material. It was directed by Felix Van Groeningen.  It was released on October 12, 2018 and runs for 120 minutes.

The real Nicholas and David Sheff. 

A star is born

This 2019 Oscar nominated movie depicts the tale of Jackson (Bradley Cooper)  and Ally (Lady Gaga)  two musicians who fell in love with each other.  Jackson Main (a drunkard and a drug addict) meets Ally  (a talented singer with a lot to say but she lacks confidence ) during her performance at a drag bar and they connected instantly.  They began seeing each other often and they fall in love.  Jack encouraged Ally in her singing by bringing her on stage to perform with him and sometimes he let's her perform alone. 

   

Soon,  Ally begins to write more songs and go on tours with Jack.  A record label producer notices her and encourages her to sign up with his record label which she did after speaking with Jack.  As Ally begins to excel in her music career, Jack's  substance abuse overwhelms him which proved as a risk to their career and relationship.

 

A star is born is one of the big screen take on a tragic love story that talks about the problems with show bursiness/fame and substance abuse.  The others were released in 1937, 1954 and 1976. A lot of drinking and drug abuse is to be expected in this movie. Strong languages especially "Fuck" and "shit" are used in most scenes. This movie has a lot of kissing scenes, few sex scenes and a few instances of partial nudity both in sexual and non sexual context. 

     A star is born is Bradely Cooper's dirctorial debut and it has messages of making your voice heard and the importance of art. It also talks on the topic of substance abuse, mental health, depression and more.  The songs in this movie are great with noticeable chemistry between Lady Gaga and Bradly Cooper.  The movie was released on October 5th 2018 and has won the Academy award and Golden. Globe award.  It is rated R for language, some sexuality and substance abuse. It runs for 135 minutes. 

The boy who harnessed the wind 2019

This movie is based on a true life story of William Kamkwamba (Maxwell Simba) a 13 years old boy in a small village in Malawi.  William created a device that will save his village from famine after a devastating flood ruined their grain fields.
    The story begins not long after  the death of William's uncle.  The federal government were interested in buying the lands of the villagers. Some of them agreed and sold their lands including the son of Williams late uncle. This contributed to the spread of famine after a massive flood in the community.

    William's parents Tyrell (Chiwetel Ejiofor)  and Agnes (Aissa Maiga) tried their best to fund their children's education all to no avail because of the hardship they were facing.  William was an intelligent and gifted student interested in science and electronics.  He sneaked into the library and he read a book about energy and he learnt about wind turbines.  He believes Wind turbines might be able to provide electricity to power an irrigation system to water the barren land in his village .  William faced a lot of obstacles and oppositions in achieving his goal to build the wind turbine and the family strength is put to test.  But with help he succeedes and builds the wind turbine.

      This movie is Oscar nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor's directorial debut and I must say he did very well.  Each character brings to live the story being told which makes it relatable and enlightening. The movie paints a picture of life in an African village in the early 2000s in the minds of the viewers.
    In this movie expect sad moments, deaths, harrasments by government officials, attack by thieves a few curse words like ''damn'' "hell" and "bullshit" are used.  English as well as the Malawian language 'Chewa' are spoken. The message/theme of this movie includes perseverance, courage, curiosity and integrity.  It was released on March 1st 2019 and runs for 113 minutes.  It was directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor and written by William Kamkwamba and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

the real William Kamkwamba 

Captain Marvel 2019

Captain marvel is the prequel of the avengers movie . It is the marvel cinematic universe first  female-led superhero movie.  The story is about how former Air Force pilot Carol Denver's (Brie Larson)  becomes captin marvel.  It begins with kree warriors including Carol/Vers trying to save their colleague who was captured by a group of alien specie.  But it turned out to be a trap and in the process of escaping,  Carol crashes on earth.

    She meets young Nicholas Fury (Samuel L Jackson)  and together they team up to save the planet and the world at large. Carol begins to recall lost memories and realizes that she was deceived by her commander and deprived of her family and friends. Carol understands and develops her powers and she becomes the universe's most powerful superhero.

   There is plenty action and violence as to be expected from any marvel movie.  The movie is a science-fiction movie.  It has a few curse words like 'Shit'. The movie has several positive messages like integrity, perseverance,  courage,  bravery, love e. t. c.  The highlight of this movie is watching Carol a fearless and confident woman turn into the greatest superhero. This movie shows Carol Denvers as a positive role model who always believes in herself and everyone around her sees her strength and inteligence.  The characters although diverse support each other well.

       It is directed by Anna Biden and Ryan Fleck. It runs for 124minutes and was released on March 8 2019. It is rated Pg 13 for sequence of sci-fi violence and action and brief suggestive languages.

Isn't it romantic 2019

Isn't it romantic is a romantic comedy starring the pitch perfect star Rebel Wilson playing the lead role of Natalie who is an architect in a New York firm.  She works hard to be great at her job but she is unnoticed.  Natalie is of the opinion that love is stupid and there is nothing dumber than romantic comedy.  One day she gets robbed and sustained a head injury that traps her in a romantic comedy.
  Natalie finds her house transformed, her dog well groomed and her closet filled with gorgeous clothes and shoes to match. But she is not close with her best friends ,Whitney (Betty Gilpin)  and Josh (Adam Devine) anymore.

    This movie is an unforgettable one.  It is a romantic comedy with a twist. It talks about feminism in a strong way. Natalie hates the fact that romantic movies  make it seem as if women are not complete till they meet and fall in love with a guy.  It is relatable to viewers of romantic movies because if you watch romantic movies you will understand what Natalie means.
    Isn't it romantic is suitable for teenagers. The violence is constricted to Natalie being robbed and hit by a car. There is show of interest in sex but all the characters do nothing more than kiss. The characters involve in drinking. The words 'shut'and 'bitch' are used and 'fuck' is also used but it is only audible once and  bleeped out comically the remaining times. The stereotyped characters are used to make points about the characterization in cliched romantic comedies which will make the viewer think about how women are really been portrayed. The movie also teaches about self control and courage.
 

It was directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and released on Febuary 13th 2019. It is rated PG13 for language,some sexual material and brief drug reference.  It runs for 88 minutes. 

Spider Man: Into The Spiderverse

Spiderman: into the spiderverse is an animation that introduces us to a universe  with different spider people. The main character Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) is a 14year old boy enrolled in an elite boarding school in New York where he feels out of place and would prefer to stay in Brooklyn with his friends. He was bitten by  a radioactive spider when he and his uncle Aaron goes to a mysterious underground lab.

     Miles tries to find out what was wrong with him when he started acting weird and he retraces his step back to the lab only to find Peter Parker/ Spider man (voiced by Jake  Johnson) in a fight with a crime boss. Spiderman was trying to stop the crime boss from opening a hole in the space time continuum that could potentially destroy the whole of New York. Spiderman is killed but he told Miles what to do to stop the crime boss before he died. The process of trying to open a hole in the spacetime continuum opened up different parallel universes which brought different spider people to that universe.

         The spider people are now 6 in number including Miles. Out of the other 5 people, there is another Peter Parker but a more older and haggard looking version of him. Miles came across him first and asks him to mentor him. The next is Gwen Stacy ( voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) a teenage girl from a universe where Peter Parker who was her best friend had been killed. There is an anime style girl named Peni Parker ( voiced by Kimko Glenn)  and also a cartoon style pig ( voiced by John Mulaney) and lastly a black and white 1930s spider man (voiced by Nicolas Cage). Each of them were trying to find their way back home. Together they teamed up to defeat the evil kingpin and returned home.

    This animation which is of a high quality  and full of adventure and action appeals to viewers of all ages. There are lots of fighting which causes death, injuries and destruction. But it is still able to pass the message of friendship, teamwork, courage, perseverance, mentoring and how power goes hand in hand with responsibilities.
   It was directed by Peter Ramsey and Bob Persichetti. It is rated PG because of frenetic sequence of animated action violence, thematic elements and mild language. The movie has won awards including 2019 Oscars, Academy Award,Common sense seal and the Golden Globe. It was released on December 14th 2018 and it runs for 116 minutes.

The Favorite

From the director Yorgos Lanthimos comes this Oscar nominated movie The Favorite. Set in 18 century England during the time of the war between England and France. Queen Anne (Olivia Coleman) is the ruler of England but she is being manipulated and influenced by her close friend/lover Lady Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz) . Queen Anne suffers from ill health,mood swings and temper tantrums which gives more opportunity for Lady Sarah to have her way as she takes the place of the queen whenever queen Anne is sick or sulking.

 A new servant Abigail Masham (Emma Stone) who is also the cousin of Lady Sarah arrives at the palace. Abigail was first stationed to work in the scullery but due to her charm Lady Sarah takes her under her wing and she started working close to the queen. Abigail who was from a prestigious and aristocratic background saw this as an opportunity to get her place back in the society.
    As the war becomes more intense Lady Sarah became busy and absent which gave Abigail more time alone with the queen. Abigail filled in Lady Sarah's role as the queen's lover and she was liked by the queen. Lady Sarah realises this and she starts a war with Abigail but Abigail is determined not to let anything or anyone stand in the way of achieving her goal .

   This movie shows the struggle of women in the bid to make name for themselves in the society. Lady Sarah although reputable and well respected has to fight to maintain her position in the society while Abigail who is from a formally well to do family has to struggle to make herself a reputable person once again in the society. The queen although she holds a position of authority is a very weak person which made her vulnerable to Lady Sarah and Abigail.
    The Favorite has scenes of nudity,homosexuality (between women), masturbation is implied and offensive words are used. Although it is set in a time of war, no war scenes are shown. The movie is rated R for strong sexual content, nudity and language. It was released on November 23rd 2018 and it runs for 119minutes.