KingsleyBenAdir – Credits Rolling

Ever since I heard they were doing a Barbie movie, my excitement went through the roof. I waited and waited and while it seemed everyone in the world was able to watch this movie before me, my time finally came last night. And it was everything I had hoped it would be and more.

In Barbieland, the women are in charge. There’s President Barbie, Doctor Barbie, Nobel Prize Winning Barbie. And then there’s stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) who is perfectly content with her day to day life. But when she starts malfunctioning, she starts to question why things are the way that they are. The only way to fix herself is to make the journey to the Real World to find the girl who plays with her. Along with Ken (Ryan Gosling), this will be a trip that changes not only Barbies forever, but Kens too.

There is simply not enough words in the English vocabulary to describe just how much this film means to me. It was so brilliantly done – not that I ever had a doubt with Greta Gerwig at the helm – but I’m still so pleased that it surpassed my expectations. Usually when a film is this hyped up, it can never be that good. But it was!

Robbie is absolutely perfect as our lead. Not only is she stunning, she gives a career best performance as her character starts feeling emotions she never did before. I also don’t recall her acting in such a comedic role before and I liked it! The big scene stealer here though was Gosling as Ken. All those rumours about him being tipped for an Oscar better be true because he was phenomenal. There were equal parts silly and hilarious mixed with a kind of redemption that just fit. I could go on and on about the others in this cast, but the list would be endless. So many stars in one movie is usually a mess, but that wasn’t the case here.

I want to live in Barbieland. The pastel colors contrasting with the darker tones of the Real World was well thought out, though I’d choose the former any day. And I want every single outfit that Robbie wore. Combined with a steller soundtrack, on the surface the film seemed like it would be one thing, but once the dust settled and it got down to the nitty gritty, the moral of the story became a lot more important than I ever thought possible. I went from laughing my head off one minute to crying the next.

Barbie was smart, funny, thought provoking and filled with girl power. With Robbie and Gosling leading the pack, I never had any doubts as to how amazing it would be. I can’t wait own it and watch it a million times on repeat. To Greta Gerwig: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now onto Oppenheimer!

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

The hype leading up to One Night in Miami’s release was real. The directorial debut from Regina King was not one to be missed! Knowing that it would be added to my list, I chose to watch it on Inauguration Day. That choice was rather fitting, though I didn’t realize just how much until after it had finished. While the story was foreign to me going in, I did know the names of the four main characters and that was enough to gauge my interest.

On the night of February 25, 1964, four men gathered together in a room at the Hampton House. In this room, minister and activist Malcom X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), professional boxer Muhammad Ali, formerly known as Cassius Clay Jr. (Eli Goree), football player James Brown (Aldis Hodge) and singer songwriter Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) discussed various civil rights movements as well as what it is like to be a Black man in America. While the actual conversation these men had is not known, this seemed to be a pretty realistic account of what could have happened.

The movie which was based on the play of the same name written by Kemp Powers in 2013, was interesting to see unfold. While there were some other sets throughout, the room at Hampton House was integral to the story and most of the events took place there. It definitely had the feel of a play and I liked the more intimate feel that it brought. In fact, I think it would be rather interesting to see the play adaption so that I can compare the two.

The casting for One Night in Miami was flawlessly done. Kingsley Ben-Adair, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom Jr. were brilliant as these men who we have all come to know in one way or another. Despite the fictitious depiction of their conversation, I would like to think that there was some truth to these discussions as well as the chemistry that we saw on screen.

Overall, I really appreciated the story and I feel like I learned a lot while watching. I liked hearing each man’s beliefs that they not only shared with one another, but that they wanted to share with the world too. Black Lives Matter is not only something that happened back in the 60s. If the last year taught us anything, it’s that this is still a hot topic that needs to be addressed.

Rating: ♥♥♥.5