Hellooooo all.

You may or may not have noticed that on the blog - over there on the right ---> - I have been noting down the films that I have gone to see in the cinema this year.
It has been my goal to go and see a film at least once a month and I thank God for helping me to actually do it and not be lazy.
I haven't written about all of the movies, although I do write little posts about them on Twitter @XenaShakur so I'm just going to collate a post about them.

1. Room, seen in January

Okay, so I know that awards season this year was plagued with controversy and rightly so, but one injustice I was bothered by was the lack of awards recognition for the astounding Jacob Tremblay. I mean, there is no 'Room' without him.
Little Jacob Tremblay's portrayal of a five year old who doesn't know anything other than the room he was raised in, left me a literal sobbing mess in the cinema.
I didn't realise how much this film affected me until I retold the story to someone else and I could barely get through the story.
I'm not decking Brie Larson's performance at all but Mr Academy, if you were going to give her the Best Actress Oscar then you could have AT LEAST given sweet amazing phenomenal Jacob Tremblay the Best Supporting Actor Oscar dammit.

But great film, you should see it.

2. Deadpool, seen in February

Wade Wilson is on a mission to find and kill the man who made him Deadpool. Sounds super dark but is actually pretty lighthearted (with a little bit of darkness. Just a hint).
I watched this a while after it came out and I entered the screening with the highest of hopes which is always a mistake because then I'm disappointed.
Deadpool was not by any means a bad film, I absolutely love it when media breaks the fourth wall and that's pretty much all the mutant does, but when loads of people tell you that 'it's the funniest movie you've ever seen, like oh my goush' then I better cry from laughter.
Alas, I didn't.
I laughed and was entertained but the film is like a solid 3.8 out of 5 for me.
Plus, am I the only shocked that Deadpool actually turned out to be a romantic comedy?

3. The Hateful Eight, Zootopia, seen in March

I mentioned in an earlier post that the legend that is Quentin Tarantino chose to release his new movie on my birthday because we are that in sync and I had heard some polarising views but I was always going to watch it because, Tarantino.
I watched it two months after it came out, at an evening showing on a Tuesday night. I'd had the longest day at university and wanted to unwind with a film. I went alone and the cinema was seriously packed but God blessed me with an empty seat on my left and three empty seats to my right. #blessed

Within the first couple of minutes of the western, a terrible thought occurred to me:
'I don't think I like this'.
Oh, say it ain't so. I was shocked to say the least, which turned into dismay as this feeling lasted for nearly an hour.
IT WAS SO SLOW.
And the fact that I was running on little sleep (life of a university student) with several empty seats allowing me to recline and a large scarf/blanket was not helping the situation at all. But THANK GOD, those awful feelings did not last very long as the characters - a stellar as per usual and very quote-worthy Samuel L. Jackson, a slimy yet engaging Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kurt Russell with the most breathtaking moustache I've ever seen - stopped over at a cabin for refuge, I knew that stool was about to hit the fan.
I also quickly realised that the super drawn out beginning was just #classictarantino and although I would cut so much of it, he thought that it was necessary so it wasn't a waste to watch.



Here's a synopsis:
The Hangman is bringing Daisy Domergue, his prisoner, to Red Rock so that she can be executed. Along the way, they are joined by The Bounty Hunter and The Sheriff but a blizzard derails their journey and they stop at the aforementioned cabin, four other mysterious men are also there. Slowly but surely, both the audience and The Hangman and Bounty Hunter realise that someone is not as they seem.
Dun dun dun.

The Hateful Eight is an impressive and thrilling ride and I would definitely advise you to take a look. If you enjoyed The Thing, which also stars Kurt Russell and is one of my favourite movies, then you'll really enjoy THE.

With Zootopia, that lovely bundle of joy, I already wrote a post on it right over here.

4. Captain America: Civil War, seen in April

Like Zootopia, I've already dedicated a post to this film here and a whole two months later, it definitely still holds up.
Just the other day, I was watching some behind the scenes footage and I hope to watch CACW again soon because it is brilliant.

5. X-Men: Apocalypse, seen in May
I'll cut to the chase - boring.
There is nothing new about this film, it's a generic, by-the-books superhero film. And this is coming from someone who was like the biggest X-Men fan but I just wasn't feeling it.
About twenty minutes in, my brother and I turned to each other and said 'this is wack'.
Just because you've thrown it back to the past (this time it's 1983) doesn't mean that anything has really changed. STILL we are following the same characters, even flipping Wolverine makes an appearance ugh. The new characters are cast off to the side as bad guys - Storm who is canonically an iconic black omega level mutant is still just a secondary character with a funky accent, Jubilee is a glorified extra and Psylocke and Angel have about ten lines between them.
Quicksilver as expected is the film's saving grace but there is not nearly enough of him.
Apocalypse, the franchise's supposed biggest and baddest villain, is a cringe with a blasphemous god-complex. As soon as I saw him, I pressed my lips together and wondered how the X-Men would inevitably destroy him.
And Magneto, I expected so much more from you - you're a punk who can be so easily swayed. Hopefully we'll soon see you shape up and become a G.

Surely, the next film will be better and there is still another Wolverine film coming out uurggghhhh.

So that's been my half year in film so far, I'm excited to see a lot more movies for the next six months. I plan on seeing Independence Day: Resurgence next week, Star Trek Beyond, Jason Bourne, Finding Dory in July and Suicide Squad in August.


Stay blessed y'all and I'll see you on the flip side.

\ thankful to God and all glory belongs to Him for blessing me to do what I enjoy.