directed by Michael Gracey

The Greatest Showman is a biographical musical about the journey of young Phineas Barnum as a kid, entrepreneur, museum owner, circus producer, and entertainment producer. Phineas, son of a tailor, meets Charity, the daughter of one of his father’s affluent clients. He makes her laugh and gets slapped for it by her dad, but the spark from their first encounter lasts throughout their youth, even when she’s away at boarding school, and he’s an orphan on the streets. Despite all odds, Finn and Charity marry and have two daughters years later. In the midst of raising his family, he secures a loan to build a museum of curiosities, eventually fails. He is inspired by an encounter to ask unusual-looking people to participate in a performance centered on them.

With help from costumes and makeup, he launches what will become the first circus. Barnum’s show is critically criticized, but the general public enjoys it. Barnum makes a fortune, but he can’t seem to stop looking for approval from higher classes. We all need some positivity and light in our lives. The world is filled with so much hate and unkindness toward anybody who is different. This film teaches us that everyone is valuable, that everyone’s existence has significance and purpose, and that we should work hard to help everyone, rich or poor. The message of this movie reminds us of how we should treat those around us and gives those of us who are different the courage and power to be who we are. Not to mention the amazing songs people of all ages can enjoy! This is the type of movie which you can’t help but come back to just because of its timeless nature. Human nature craves the light and goodness movies such as The Greatest Showman give to us in this world.

Manaal I.

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by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck 

5 Stars

Disney Frozen 2 Original Movie Poster | Frozen film, Disney movies, Disney  animation

After lifting the curse of eternal winter in Arendelle, Queen Elsa now rules the kingdom and enjoys a joyful life with her sister, Princess Anna. Despite this, Elsa finds herself oddly unsettled. A strange, mysterious voice continuously calls Elsa, keeping her awake and inviting her to an enchanted forest that her father mentioned long ago. Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven all embark on a journey, following the mysterious voice into the unknown. In the enchanted forest, they are revealed to the truth behind the kingdom of Arendelle, their family’s past, and the origin of Elsa’s extraordinary, magical powers. Frozen 2 showcases the adventures of Elsa, Anna, and their friends in the ancient, enchanted woods as they seek to find long-awaited answers and save their kingdom once and for all. 

Frozen 2 is an excellent movie and ranks among one of my favourite Disney films. After watching the first movie, I had high expectations proceeding to watch the sequel, and they were met. It was a sequel worth the wait and had a compelling storyline. Compared to the first movie, this film touched upon many deeper themes and showed growth and maturity within the characters. Though I felt that at certain points, the plot seemed to be all over the place, the movie wrapped up nicely. My favourite part of the movie was the range of absolutely stunning visuals. The scenery was precise and detailed throughout the entire film. Such as great film for younger and older audiences to enjoy.

Emily K.

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by Marc Webb

5 Stars

Gifted (2017) | CineMuseFilms

Boat repairman and former philosophy professor, Frank Adler is raising his seven-year-old niece Mary by himself in a small town in Florida. Frank has been a guardian to Mary since she was first born and when her mother, Frank’s sister, committed suicide. Just like her mother, Mary is a genius and has shown remarkable mathematical talent, but Frank hopes she can have a chance at a normal childhood, unlike his sister. After years of homeschooling, Frank decides to enroll Mary in a public school for first grade, and on her first day, her teacher is impressed by her incredible mathematical abilities. The school’s principal suggests that she should be transferred to a school for gifted students, but Frank declines. Mary’s controlling grandmother eventually gets an insight into the situation and hopes to gain custody of Mary and move her to Massachusetts as she believes that Mary should dedicate her life to mathematics, just like her mother. Frank and his mother get into a legal battle over her custody, with his mother wanting to force Mary to complete her mother’s project and Frank wanting to give Mary the life her mother never had. 

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film as it was gripping and kept my attention throughout. Chris Evans, who plays Frank, and McKenna Grace, who plays Mary, have amazing chemistry and showcased wonderful acting, which made the movie very enjoyable to watch. The math scenes were my favourite as they were beautifully and simply portrayed without lots of exaggeration. Gifted is truly a heartwarming film that many will enjoy!

Emily K.

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by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck

3 Stars

Frozen II - Wikipedia

The movie Frozen 2, directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, is about an ice queen named Elsa (voiced by Idina Menzel), discovering some hidden secrets in the enchanted forests, or what she called the “unknown”. Elsa, her sister Anna (voiced by Kristen Bell), and her friends Olaf, Christoff, and Sven go searching for the mysterious voice that has been calling out to her. Elsa soon discovers the hidden secrets of her families’ past and discovers her most inner persona.  

Frozen 2 is a continuation of the first Frozen movie. I would recommend someone who is planning on watching this movie to watch the first movie of FrozenFrozen 2 is a very good family movie. It has some humour and a lot of drama. There are also a lot of songs and singing in the movie. The songs are very nice, but in my opinion, I feel like there was a bit too much singing. Many of the songs were unneeded and took over a large part of the movie. Personally, I would consider this movie as sort of a musical rather than a drama. I feel like the first movie of Frozen was better than the new one because it had fewer and simpler songs that you could sing to, and the songs connected well to the plots of the movie. The plot of Frozen 2 is very good, and the resolution is very appealing and ties all the loose ends together. Overall, I would rate this movie a 3 out of 5 stars. I feel like it would be a lot better if there were more drama and action than singing. 

Liza P.

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by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane

5 Stars

Spies in Disguise, directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, is a movie full of comedy and action that every family member can enjoy together. It is a movie that I enjoyed and would recommend others to watch. It has many exciting and “weird” moments that cause suspense and bring laughter.  

Spies in Disguise - Wikipedia

The movie is about a super-spy named Lance Sterling, voiced by Will Smith, and a scientist named Walter Beckett, voiced by Tom Holland. This duo is complete opposites who have to work together. Lance Sterling is a smooth, independent spy whose goal is to protect the world from evil. Walter Beckett is a smart, inventive scientist who lacks social skills. These two characters have to work together because Lance turns into a pigeon when accidentally drinking one of Walter’s inventions. The question throughout the movie is, will Lance Sterling return to human form? Will he be able to defeat evil as a pigeon? Lance was always used to working alone but, as a pigeon, he had to depend on someone else. He had to learn to work with Walter.  

The movie focuses on the idea that it is okay to be weird or different, and that people can work as a team even if they are different from each other. In the part of the movie where Lance Sterling says, “Let’s get weird”, this is associated with Walter always being considered the “weird kid” in school. It showed that all the work Walter did on his inventions was not just something weird but actually ended up helping Lance fight evil. When they worked together, they both became better versions of themselves. The movie also has a lot of action. There is a sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat moment where a viewer would fear what was going to happen next. There are a lot of close-calls, and some events happen that you would not expect to happen in the movie. The movie showed Walter’s inventions in creative ways, and some of the things that happened to him and Lance throughout the plot were interesting and creative. The characters in the movie are funny, and the choices that they make cause them to seem silly and careless. The movie will grab the attention of everyone and give everyone a chance to stay on their toes and laugh. Overall, I would recommend this movie for all ages, and it is a good movie for a whole family to watch together. I would rate this movie 5 stars. It is funny, exciting, and would be enjoyable for everyone in the family to see. 

Liza P.

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by Lulu Wang

5 Stars

THE FAREWELL (Le mariage d'adieu) (Bilingual): Amazon.ca: Awkwafina, Tzi  Ma, VVS FILMS, Lulu Wang: DVD

The film, The Farewell follows a Chinese-American family as they discover that their beloved grandmother’s life is coming to an end. Billi is an aspiring writer who is very close to her Grandmother, Nai Nai. Billi discovers from her parents that her grandmother has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and may only live for another couple months. Billi and her family decide not to inform Nai Nai about her diagnosis to prevent her from living her remaining days in fear. Instead of breaking the saddening news, the family chooses to plan an extravagant wedding as an excuse to reunite the entire family one last time. Doing so, the family must control and do everything they can to cope with their emotions to protect their grandmother. 

I personally really enjoyed this film as it was deeply moving and extremely emotional. The storyline was very creative and intriguing, definitely not like anything I have seen before. The film showcases spectacular acting from the entire cast, especially Awkafina, who plays the main character, Billi. The music throughout the film was quite subtle, which was paired perfectly with all of the beautiful shots. There are references made to Asian culture; however, anyone will be able to relate to the movie with the themes about family and love. Even though this movie does not include crazy and dramatic scenes, the film resonates with the viewers and leaves you with deep emotions that will definitely linger on. I would highly recommend The Farewell to anyone who is willing to watch it.

Emily K.

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by Tom McGrath

4.5 Stars

The Boss Baby - Wikipedia

Imaginative Tim Templeton is a happy seven-year-old boy who has been receiving all the love and attention from his loving parents, Ted and Janice, for years. Tim is surprised one day when an infant wearing a black business suit and tie, carrying a briefcase arrives at his home in a taxi. Tim’s parents inform Tim that the infant is his new baby brother. With the new baby around, Tim realizes that he is no longer the center of attention anymore and is envious. One day, Tim discovers that the baby can talk and refers to himself as “The Boss”. The Boss Baby reveals that he has been sent out as a spy on a top-secret mission to destroy and end an organization working to launch forever puppies that will replace babies, Puppy Co. Though Tim is not too fond of the Boss Baby, he agrees to help him on his mission, solely to get rid of him faster. The two boys team up to create an epic battle between puppies and babies. 

I personally enjoyed this film as it was action-packed and included hilarious bits of comedy. The storyline was quite interesting and was entertaining to watch. The movie reminded me of my own childhood with the original take on sibling rivalries and bonding. I thought the animations were very colourful and vibrant, which were very pleasing to look at. In conclusion, Boss Baby is a cute and charming film that is great for the whole family to enjoy. 

Emily K.

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Directed by: William Eubank

3 Stars

The movie focuses on Kepler 822, a research and drilling facility owned by the company Tian Industries which resides at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. (Sorry, but I don’t know where that is) However, disaster strikes when a massive earthquake destroys part of the facility leaving Norah Price (Played by Kristan Stewart) and her coworkers Rodrigo, Paul, and Emily to attempt to escape.

Right off the bat, some criticism. As soon as the movie starts, we’re thrust into the plot. Specifically, without any context or backstory, which would have been appreciated. It was like bam! Here are characters that are now in a problem. I would have liked some character backstory and backstory on the company (Tian Industries) and why they were drilling in the Marianas Trench. However, criticism aside, it was an exciting and entertaining film and had many staple aspects of a thriller movie. It had scares, thoughtful moments; overall, it was decent.

Ceilie

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By Anna Todd

5 Stars

Image result for after by anna todd movie poster

After by Anna Todd is about a girl named Tessa who has the perfect life, and the rest of her life planned out by her mother. She already knows that her best friend turned boyfriend, Noah, and herself will be happily married together right after she finishes college-but everything changes when she actually gets to college. When Tessa reaches her dream college, she instantly realizes how different everyone is from her. Her roommate has a peculiar friend group with everyone just wanting to get together. One friend, in particular, Hardin Scott, comes to Tessa’s attention for being so ignorant and rude to everyone. Hardin likes to keep to himself and go from girl to girl never really opening up to them. You would think this shouldn’t be a problem for Tessa since she has a boyfriend, but no. This just attracts Tessa to him even more, being disloyal to Noah. Despite their differences, Hardin and Tessa always seem to find a way to each other and eventually are in a relationship which is the most toxic thing ever. Perfect Tessa and troubled Hardin with a horrible past who is a very mean drunk due to his father, and gets drunk constantly could not be more different and are fighting constantly. They fight constantly but are both sure they are made for each other At the end of the book, Tessa learns the biggest secret that Hardin kept from her-which leads to the next book. This book used to be a One Direction fanfiction that was first published on WattPad but characters were changed due to copyright purposes (Harry Styles turned into Hardin Scott, etc.) however, it has nothing to do with the band. It had over 1 billion reads online which is what turned it into a hardcopy book, and now a movie.  

What I really didn’t like about the book was Tessa’s whole character. She always thought he was cheating on her when if anything he should be worried about her since she literally cheated on Noah for him. She also never trusted him and was pretty much entitled. Also, this book promoted toxic relationships as romance. Yet, these things made the book better because I loved to make fun of Tessa’s illogical decisions. 

The author does a really good job of making Hardin a likable character, despite his rude personality, which is really difficult to do. This book was very addicting and impossible to put down. This book is pretty graphic and resulted in me skipping pages to chapters at times to avoid reading it. For that reason, I’d recommend the book to anyone 15+. 

Khadeeja F.

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