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Reflections

Representation in the Mainstream

I have always openly been critical about the lack of representation and visibility of minorities in mainstream media. Be it superhero films, rom-coms, dramas, or period pieces, the Hollywood-dominated world of international media has been one that has sorely lacked in any diversity whatsoever. We still have a long way to go to equally represent people of all races, sexual orientation, gender, religion, creed, and everything in between. However, today’s post focuses on the smashing headway that’s been made for minorities in the mainstream. The positive recognition that has been given to these films and shows reflect the kind of…

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Reflections

Is Originality Dead?

Remakes, Franchises and Sequels: Are they worth it? We live in the era of franchise films, sequels, and remakes upon remakes (here’s looking at you, Spider-Man). While some of these sequels and remakes can be awesome, much of the time it leaves me wondering: is originality not a goal anymore? Here’s where that concept gets tricky, though. We live in a time where virtually no idea is legitimately “original” anymore. There’s so much material out there – books, films, television, and art. We are technically always using past models and structures to help us create fresh material. If you think…

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Reflections

5 Best Films: Underrated Animation

Animated films are embedded into our lives from the very start. A wonderful art form that works to inform children while creating fun worlds of endless possibilities, animated films can be enjoyed at any age. And while it’s easiest to recall those from the cornucopia of Disney, Pixar, or Disney/Pixar umbrella, I think it’s equally important to recognize some of the smaller, less “well-known” animated films produced by other companies. Many other amazing animated films have been distributed by other companies such as DreamWorks, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, and Warner Bros. So today I’ve made a list of my…

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Reflections

5 Best Christmas Movies

As the holiday season quickly approaches, I can’t wait to cuddle up on the couch, drink some festive tea, and watch some of my favourite Christmas movies. Today I’m giving you a list of my top 5: some are massive Christmas classics and some a little less so. Of course, there are so many Christmas movies out there, and I won’t just be revisiting these five – ultimately, the lovely thing about Christmas and holiday movies is that they aim to instill cozy, loving, family and relationship-oriented feelings within the viewers. It’s a time where being a little more on…

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Movies

Dark Humour in “Kingsman: Secret Service”

Happy Sunday, everyone! A little bit of academic writing never hurt anyone, so today I’m posting yet another one of my old essays I wrote for a film class back in university. The essay focuses on Kingsman: Secret Service (2014), offering an academic view on the use of dark humour, satire, and self reflexivity in the film, and how it created a successful movie. Enjoy! The British-American movie Kingsman: Secret Service, directed by Matthew Vaughn, is characterized as an “action-comedy spy film”, starring Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mark Strong. The film both embraces the classical Hollywood…

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5 Best Series

5 Best Sequels that Live Up to the Original

Happy March, everyone! While the warmer weather approaches us, a sense of nostalgia for springs and summers past washes over me. In continuation of our ‘5 Best’ series, I thought it suitable to reminisce on some classic sequels that bring about the same sense of nostalgia. In this list, I’ve included some of the movies that I find to be just as worthy as, if not slightly better than, their predecessors. Feel free to comment below to let us know what some of your favourite sequels are! 1. Toy Story 2 (1999) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu0sotERXhI Disney-Pixar and their incredible computer-animated films have…

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