The Nerdy Lisa

     So, I’ve been noticing when it comes to the DC Universe films, people are generally love it or hate it crowd. I will admit, I am not the biggest fan of the emo version of Man of Steel and the convoluted Batman v. Superman. MIDDLE GROUND REJOICE! Suicide Squad is better than the previous two films but in all honesty, not by much. Sound pretty confusing, correct? 

     Let me state the two positives:

Great Casting Decisions (obviously Will Smith, Margot Robbie and supporting cast). The big debate is on Jared Leto on his portrayal of The Joker. It’s a different from Health Ledger’s performance and given that we didn’t see enough of him to fully review his spin on this iconic character. There was definite chemistry between Deadshot with Rick Flag and Harley Quinn with the Joker when they were on screen together. Amanda Waller was a badass too.

Entertaining! In the past, I used to take for granted on whether I enjoyed the film or kept me occupied for the couple of hours. I did not immediately booed or even hated the movie after I stepped out of the theater which in my eye gets a starting grade 5/10 (typically the meh score). Without a doubt there are ridiculous scenes from Harley Quinn receiving her “gear” to Captain Boomerang’s unicorn WHICH DOESN’T GET EXPLAINED. What’s the main focus of a movie besides earning money, to be ENTERTAINED! 

     Now this film is nowhere near perfect. I believe the huge reasons as for why the majority of people despised this movie were the fundamentals such as:

Plot. This two hour film moves from one scene to the next with barely taking a breath to decide what the hell is going on. With the exception of Will Smith. We never got to understand and fully support the entire cast. 

Villain. We can all agree on the fact that all the villain does is sway her hips. WTF I thought Marvel had a villain issue but apparently DC does too. 

Directing/Editing. Any fan knows about the whole re-shoot debacle because of Batman v. Superman but it affected this film badly. There were obvious scenes that were either re-shoot or removed with tons of plot holes. I kept asking myself what was the purpose for the whole beginning Joker scenes when he is about to torture Harley. I wouldn’t say it bothered me but made me more perplex with the decisions. 

Soundtrack. I love the soundtrack separately and have been listening to it on a daily basis but in this film it was nothing but distraction. The music was too loud in the beginning, almost at the point where it was hard to hear the dialogue. 

Dialogue. I’m shocked at how likable Will Smith is given that all the conversations were extremely wooden. Anyone that watches this movie, keep track on how many times the word “villain” and “bad guys” were utilized, 

     Bottom line is to simply watch all the trailers and you will know exactly what is going on and have a better time than watching the entire film. I stand by the title of the post and say it’s not horrible. A horrible film would be any of the recent Adam Sandler’s titles because there are no redeemable factors unlike Suicide Squad. Another advice tip is to not overthink this movie and sit back, relax and have a fun time. 

    As your Nerdy Lisa, I will be giving Suicide Squad a 5.5/10. 

     For the most part, you can always count on Disney to deliver a well crafted, animated feature. Zootopia is not the exception but rather rises about all previous films for nailing the social climate on today’s culture.  Zootopia is the 55th movie by Disney studios and directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore.

     This thought-provoking story revolves around a female rabbit Judy Hopps, whose dreams of becoming a cop in this anthropomorphic universe. She accomplishes her goal and eventually moves to the great city of Zootopia. Her family and coworkers belittle her and do not take her seriously as she is the very first bunny to make the force. She takes on a case of missing predators (this world is classified as either a prey or a predator) and stumbles upon a fox named Nick and tag teams together to solve the mystery. When Judy becomes the hero her choice of poor words divides and segregates these two populations even further and hurting Nick in the process. In the end, Judy and Nick exposes the true villain and tries to reunite all the community members together. 

     Disney films in general try to aim their audience directly to children but Zootopia’s dialogue, voice cast and characters can easily be addressed towards adults. Particularly, Disney is overtly talking about bigotry and racism in the form of animals. On the superficial surface, children will learn the usual life traits of perseverance and acceptance of people(or in this case animal’s)’s differences. For the much older crowd, it goes deeper into the dialogue and exposition that predators are the minority with only being about 10% of the population. You see this directly with Nick’s story. The animals have a stereotype of foxes being sly and lying to other creatures. Nick’s backstory happens towards the 2nd act where we learn he wanted to be accepted by the prey and found out through harsh reality and discrimination, he was not going to get the animal’s approval. Thus, giving up on trying to be accepted and just be the fox that everyone assumed. Disney does not use the term “racism” but with certain dialogue sprinkled upon us, adults can pick up the subtle meaning. 

     For example, Judy meets a fellow cheetah dispatcher named Clawhauser, he comments on how Judy is “cute.” Judy politely corrects him by saying  “uh, you probably didn’t know but a bunny can call another bunny cute but when other animals do it...” Clawhauser quickly apologizes and hopes to not have offend her. This references how one group of people’s manor of words is not offensive within the group because of no foul harm but when another group uses it, it tends to be a negative comment, a slur.  There are also segregated neighborhoods with species and even an elephant parlor refusing to service Nick for being a fox/predator. Fear is another big point that gets across in this film, fear just like the real world, helps push the prejudice notions. Fear of other “creatures” or in our case different races. Our protagonist claims she is not afraid since she was bullied as a young bunny but in certain situations she has reacted with fear and prejudice even towards Nick thanks to her paranoid of predators parents. 

     As a movie fan, I love realistic speech that Judy Hopps gives her fellow cops. We all know the world we live in will never be perfect. She almost begs the cops to just try which I think we all can do.  “Real life is messy. We all have limitations. We all make mistakes. Which means, hey, glass half full, we all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be. But we have to try. So no matter what kind of person you are, I implore you: Try. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you.“

     As your Nerdy Lisa, I will give Zootopia a 9.5/10. These have been the rantings and ramblings of a girl with a geeky past. See ya! 

I’m not the type of person who gets depressed that summer is ending. 

I start school on Wednesday which means....

SCHOOL SUPPLY SHOPPING :D 

Why do people watch this show? 

My reaction: 

Movie Night = The Princess Bride!

Oh how I wish to see more beautiful moments between Molly and Sherlock!!

She is all grown up.

Now I have only finished two episodes so far but I wish I could be as badass shield-maiden as Lagertha in this series. :)