DannyRamirez – Credits Rolling

Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is adjusting to life as the new Captain America. When he finds himself at the centre of an international incident, he must work with Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) to find out who is behind these attacks and put a stop to them once and for all.

Mackie was excellent. I’ve always liked Sam as a character and I think that he donned his new title effortlessly. He was never trying to be Steve Rogers; he just wanted to be himself. I loved his friendship with Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez). Their banter was playful and fun. It really had that sibling feeling to it. The introduction of Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas) was a welcome one and I’m looking forward to seeing more of her in the future.

Unfortunately some of the other characters were underused. I was so much looking forward to seeing Ford hulk out. To say I was disappointed with that part of his storyline is an understatement. I feel like he would have been a more interesting villain than Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns. I also wish we’d had more time with Carl Lumby who played Isaiah Bradley and Giancarlo Esposito who portrayed Sidewinder.

While the action sequences and special effects were decent, there were times throughout where I felt like the quality of the shots were grainy. Maybe that is what they were going for, but it was distracting. Additionally, the storyline itself was also a bit clunky. I didn’t really understand a lot of what was going on. I do think that watching The Incredible Hulk, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and The Eternals beforehand is helpful.

Overall, I went into Captain America: Brave New World with very little expectations. There was just something about it that I wasn’t excited about. I’m glad this was the way I approached it because I was able to enjoy it more. That being said, I still wasn’t completely sold. It’s not the worst of Marvel’s offerings, but it certainly isn’t one of the best. I’m hoping the next two instalments of the year are better.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5

Netflix’s newest romcom Look Both Ways features Lili Reinhart’s Natalie Bennet who has always stuck close to her five year plan. Graduate college, move to LA with her best friend Cara (Aisha Dee) and land her dream job in the animation industry. On the night of her graduation, she takes a pregnancy test and her life suddenly splits in two. In one scenario, events unfold as if the test was positive where Natalie decides to keep the baby and raise them with the father Gabe (Danny Ramirez). In the other, Natalie does go to LA where she not only lands a great job, but a great guy too.

Now that Riverdale is approaching its last season, it is nice to see Reinhart star in something new. After her first foray into film with Chemical Hearts, I have to say that I enjoyed her in this movie much more. In addition to acting, she also produced the film and you can tell that she gave it her all.

The storyline itself is rather simple and straightforward. There aren’t any special effects or crazy plot twists that occur, but that doesn’t make it boring either. It actually made for a pleasant viewing experience because I didn’t have to pay too close attention and I was still able to follow what was going on. The events that transpired throughout were also realistically done.

But what I liked the most about the film was seeing how both stories, though completely different, did not out-weight one another. Just because Natalie had a baby in one storyline didn’t mean she wouldn’t be more successful or less happy than the storyline in which she went to LA, got a job working for her idol (Nia Long) and met the man of her dreams (David Corenswet). Both had their ups and downs and worked out the way they were supposed to. It was refreshing to have this take portrayed on screen.

If you are looking for a cute and easy going romantic comedy to laze around to one afternoon, I recommend watching Look Both Ways. It’s certainly one of the better films in the genre that I have seen lately.

Rating: ♥♥♥